Providence, R.I. - The Johnson & Wales University men's basketball team posted a 64-54 win against Rivier in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Harborside Recreation Center on Saturday afternoon.
Johnson & Wales freshman Lamonte Thomas (Providence, R.I.) led the way with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists while senior Justin Adams (Providence, R.I.) added 17 points and five boards.  Junior Darren Faust (Queens, N.Y.) was also in double figures with 10 points while freshman Robert Williams (Danbury, Conn.) rounded out the double figure scorers with 13 points for the Wildcats.

Sophomore Nick Bean (East Longmeadow, Mass.) led the way for Rivier with 14 points and three rebounds while senior Lance Bisson (Nashua, N.H.) added 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in the setback.

Johnson & Wales jumped out to an early 10-5 lead after a jumper by Faust with 14:09 left in the first half.  The Wildcats held the 19-18 lead on a pair of free throws with 6:21 left.  Rivier then went on a 7-0 run to take the 25-19 advantage on a jumper by Lima with 2:50 left.  The visiting Raiders then took the 27-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.  JWU shot just 25.9% from the field for the half with Rivier holding a 28-16 advantage in rebounds. 

JWU opened the second half with a 10-5 run to reclaim the lead when two free throws by Thomas put the team ahead 33-32 with 14:27 remaining.  The two teams would trade leads for the next five minutes with the score knotted 43-43 with 9:25 left.  The Wildcats then used an 11-4 run, capped by a three pointer by Williams to take the 54-47 lead with 3:48 remaining.  Rivier responded and cut the lead to just four after a layup by Bisson made the score 58-54 with :31 left.  That would be as close as the Raiders would get, however as JWU closed out the game on a 6-0 run en route to the 64-54 victory.

With the win Johnson & Wales improves to 9-13, 8-7 in the GNAC while Rivier falls to 11-9 overall and 8-7 in league play.