(Providence, R.I.) The Rivier Men's Basketball team was defeated by the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats this evening by the score of 80-72. With the loss, the Raiders drop to 3-15 (2-9 GNAC) on the year. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 15-4 (10-2 GNAC).
Junior Tom Garrick (Seekonk, Mass.) notched a game-high 29 points and added eight rebounds to propel the men's basketball team to an 80-72 victory against Rivier in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Wildcat Center on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams traded baskets in the early stages of the contest with Rivier holding the 16-13 advantage after a layup by junior Kywane Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) with 12:44 left in the first half. Johnson & Wales then erupted with a 14-0 run, capped by a jump shot by Garrick to take the 27-16 lead with 7:58 left in the first half. The Wildcats led by as many as 15 points in the half before taking the 44-31 lead heading into the half. Johnson & Wales had a 21-10 advantage in rebounds and forced Rivier into 12 turnovers for the stanza.
Johnson & Wales controlled the action throughout and had a double digit lead throughout the half, including a 76-66 lead after a pair of free throws from Greenaway with 1:48 left in the contest. The visiting Raiders then rattled the next six, including a layup by Ruff to cut the lead to 76-72 with :31 on the clock. The Wildcats then closed out the game with a perfect 4-for-4 from the line to clinch the 80-72 victory.
Rivier had good performances turned in by freshman Andre Ruff (Lowell, Mass.) who was the catalyst for the Raiders, scoring 20 points while securing 6 rebounds and senior Jake Nelson (Nashua, N.H.) who added an additional 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Johnson & Wales had good performances turned in by junior Quarry Greenaway (Westchester, N.Y.) who was able to record a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Jarell Lawson (Providence, R.I.) added an additional 11 points and 4 rebounds for the Wildcats.
In their next contest, the Rivier Men's Basketball team will travel to play Saint Joseph's College (Me.) on February 4th at 7:30pm. The Wildcats will return to action on Wednesday, February 4st when they travel to Suffolk for a GNAC contest at 7:00 p.m.
