WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Riding a four-game winning streak to close the regular season, the Rivier men's basketball team secured the No. 6 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament. The Raiders will travel to No. 3 Saint Joseph (Conn.) for a rematch of last year's GNAC Quarterfinal on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium.
This marks the first time Rivier has reached the quarterfinal round in back-to-back seasons since the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns.
Under second-year head coach Tom Glynn, the Raiders finished with a 14-11 record for the second consecutive season while also securing a 7-7 league ledger. This marked the program's first set of back-to-back winning seasons since 2013-14.
Rivier opened the season with an 88-65 victory over Mass. Liberal Arts, avenging a loss from the previous year. The Raiders then picked up consecutive wins against Hartford and Fitchburg St., marking their first 3-0 start since the 2008-09 season. After suffering their first loss on the road against Roger Williams, they rebounded with three straight victories over Lesley, Brooklyn, and Plymouth St. The win over Plymouth St. snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Panthers dating back to 2012.
Following back-to-back road losses to Fisher and Salem St., the Raiders bounced back with a 30-point win over Framingham St. The team then closed out non-conference play with a loss to Brandeis, finishing with a 7-4 record.
Rivier opened GNAC play in January with three straight wins against Emmanuel (Mass.), Elms, and New England Col. The Raiders then battled through a seven-game losing streak before reigniting their season with four straight victories over Regis (Mass.), Colby-Sawyer, Dean, and Mitchell. Their season's best winning streak propelled Rivier to a 14-11 (7-7 GNAC) finish.
Graduate student Kyler Bosse leads the Raiders with 20.5 points per game, ranking third in the conference, while also contributing 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc. Junior Matt Constant follows closely, ranking fifth in the GNAC with 18.5 points per game, along with 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest. Graduate student Joey Merrill adds 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while also providing a steady 4.0 assists per contest. Senior Odarius Cade chips in 11.2 points per game, along with 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Junior Robenson Baguidy ranks fourth in the GNAC with 4.4 assists per game.
Steph Barnes, Ra'Quan Groves, Cheikh Gueye, and Matt Youngquist have all started games this season and remain key contributors for the Raiders.
As a team, Rivier averages 79.2 points per game, shooting 45.2% from the field and 33.6% from three-point range.
The Blue Jays enter the tournament with an 18-7 (12-2 GNAC) record and hold a seven-game winning streak over Rivier, having never lost to the Raiders in the all-time series which dates back to USJ's first season in 2018-19. Saint Joseph has been dominant at home, boasting a 10-2 record, and previously defeated Rivier 81-70 in West Hartford on Jan. 18.
Lence Altenor leads USJ in scoring with 16.0 points per game, while backcourt mate Kevin Cummings follows with 15.0 points per contest.
The winner of Tuesday's matchup will advance to the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 27 to face either No. 2 Lasell or No. 7 Dean.
