Men's Basketball drops GNAC contest to Lasell, 105-85

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Men's Basketball team lost another Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest this afternoon as Lasell College entered the Muldoon Gymnasium and ran away with a 105-85 victory. The loss sends Rivier to 3-16 overall and 3-9 in the conference while Lasell remains unbeaten in league play (11-0) and is now 15-4 on the year.

Junior Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.) shot 8-of-14 from the floor to lead the team with 21 points and senior Anthony Simmons (Stamford, Conn.) added 18 points on 6-of-10 to buoy the Raider offense. Sophomore Victor Davilla (Guaynabo, P.R.) and freshman Isaiah Ruffen (Haverhill, Mass.) chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Cullen Donovan (Wethersfield, Conn.) added eight points in a reserve effort for Rivier.

Lasell received a 37 point performance from Armin Omanovic and a pair of double-doubles from Pat Marchand and Yordan Villalon to keep pace with Johnson & Wales in the GNAC standings. Omanovic was just 8-for-16 from the floor but more importantly was 18-for-23 from the charity stripe in leading the Lasers. Marchand finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Villalon had 21 points and 11 rebounds coming off the bench. Villalon also went to the line 21 times where he connected on 14.

Next up for the Raiders is a home date with Albertus Magnus College on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm at the Muldoon Gymnasium. Lasell will also return to action on Wednesday as they host JWU in a battle for first-place. Game time is set for 7pm.