Men's Basketball downs Unity, 107-63; advances to Tip-Off Championship

(Nashua, N.H.) Day One of the 24th instalment of the Rivier University Men's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament has come to an end with the host Raiders earning their way to the Championship game with an impressive 107-63 rout of Unity College. The 2pm tournament finale will feature Rivier against Fisher College, who came from behind to defeat Lesley University 88-82.

Game One: Rivier University 107, Unity College 63 (Final)

A 56-point first half buoyed by 14 made three-point attempts, propelled the Raiders to their first win of the season in the tournament's opening game. Rivier, now 1-1 on the young year, shot 51.4% from the floor throughout the contest.

Freshman Tristian Givens (Windsor, Conn.) was your game high scorer as he knocked down 9-for-11 from beyond the arc to finish with 32 points. Fellow freshman Keith Poitier (East Hartford, Conn.) was 5-for-6 from three-point land as he added 22 points and senior Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.) chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds in the win. Freshman Joshua L'Heureux (Dracut, Mass.) came off the bench and poured in 11 points for the Raiders. Junior AbdoulNasser Mika (Boston, Mass.) and sophomore Bruce Barton (Webster, N.H.) each pulled in seven rebounds to lead the team with Francis in that category.

Unity was led by senior Sean Tocci (Bangor, Maine) as he finished the evening with 25 points on 6-for-19 shooting from the floor (a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe). Sophomore Hunter Engel (Cooperstown, N.D.) contributed 11 points and freshman Donato Cieri (Weehawken, Mass.) provided 13 points in a reserve effort. Samuel Napper led the Rams with five rebounds.

Game Two: Fisher College 88, Lesley University 82 (Final)

Fisher was able to overcome an 11-point deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining as they snuck past Lesley University, 88-82 in the night's final game and advance to the Championship game tomorrow.

The Falcons (2-1 overall) saw five student-athletes reach the double-digit plateau with senior Kyle Homes (Hamden, Conn.) recording the day's only double-double. Homes finished the night with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Classmate Cooper Neal (Fresno, Calif.) added 17 points and 7 rebounds with senior Brodric Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) contributing 14 points. Both juniors Jamontay Thompson (Tangerine, Fla.) and Roger Hamel (Huntington Beach, Calif.) came off the bench and dropped 11 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Darrell Grady totaled five assists in the contest.

For the Lynx, they were led by senior Marquise Johnson's (Hampton, Va.) 15 points and 7 rebounds. The trio of senior Devon Mayo (Newport News, Va.), junior Joey Martin (Melbourne, Fla.) and junior Will Gibson (Melbourne, Fla.) each scored 12 points and sophomore Xeo Golding (Windermere, Fla.) added nine points on the night.

The game also marked the first time at Lesley Head Coach, Chris Giordano returned the Muldoon since he departed the Rivier Men's program three years ago. Giordano was a top assistant here in Nashua after finishing his stellar four year career in Raider blue which included a GNAC Championship.

The schedule for tomorrow will feature Lesley University against Unity College in the consolation game starting at 12pm and Rivier hosting Fisher in the Championship slated to start at 2pm.