SALEM, Mass. – The Rivier men's basketball team fell to Salem St. in a non-conference clash at Twohig Gymnasium by a final score of 86-74 on Thursday night.

The Raiders fell to 6-3 as the host Vikings improved to 2-7.

Rivier trailed by four, 41-37 at the end of the first half with junior Matt Constant notching a team-high 16 points on 5-of-11 (45.5%) shooting while snagging six boards.

A layup by graduate Joey Merrill cut the deficit to two in the opening minute of the second half. The Raiders continued to keep the game within two scores until Omri Merryman nailed a three-pointer with 8:05 remaining to make it 65-58 in favor of Salem St. Merryman's three with 4:41 left in regulation gave the Vikings their largest lead to that point, 75-62, as the Raiders offense went quiet. Merryman once again drained a three with 2:57 left to make it a 15-point ballgame as the hosts cruised to a 12-point victory, snapping a seven-game losing streak.

Constant finished one rebound shy of a double-double as he registered 21 points. Merrill finished with his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 boards along with four assists. Fellow grad Kyler Bosse posted 19 points on 8-of-16 (50%) shooting to round out the double-digit scorers for the Raiders. First-year Steph Barnes added eight points off the bench, hitting 2-of-4 from deep.

Rivier returns to the friendly confines of the Muldoon Center on Saturday, Dec. 7 for a non-conference clash against Framingham St. which tips off at noon.