Walch, Raiders bow out in GNAC Quarterfinals

(New Haven, CT)  The 7th seeded Rivier University Men's Basketball team finished their season tonight as they fell to 2nd seeded Albertus Magnus College, 84-65 in the 2013 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Falcons will now host Johnson & Wales (R.I.) on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7:00 p.m.

Junior Tom Poitras (Bow, NH) finished the season as he led the Raiders with 14 points. Classmate Nick Walch (Dedham, MA) recorded another double-double as he was able to collect 10 rebounds to go along with his 12 points. Playing in his final game, senior Mike Polley (Nashua, NH) earned 10 points off the bench for Rivier, who finish the 2012-2013 season with a 10-16 overall record.

Jefferson Lora (Bronx, N.Y.), who shot 7-of-11 from the floor, added one steal and four blocked shots in 21 minutes of work as he scored 19 points and collected 7 rebounds. Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.) led all scorers with 20 points, while three Falcons added 12 points apiece. James Jennings (Stratford, Conn.), James Economopoulos (Wallingford, Conn.) and Marc Wilson (Jersey City, N.J.) each tallied 12 points to round out the five Falcons in double-figures.

Albertus shot 37.9% in the opening frame led by 10 points from both Lora and Watson.

Both teams shot well in the second half as the Falcons shot 54.8% from the field, a 17-of-31 clip, while Rivier shot 50%, including a stellar 5-of-7 from behind the arc.

After being outrebounding the Falcons 21-13 in the opening half, the Raiders were able to keep the edge on the boards 37-31 on the night.

The Falcons (22-4 overall) advance to the GNAC Tournament semifinal round for the fifth-straight year and will face JWU for the third time in the last five GNAC semifinal appearances.