Men's Basketball falls to Pine Manor in Tip-Off opener

(Nashua, N.H.) Both the Pine Manor College and the University of Southern Maine Men's Basketball teams were victorious in the opening round as they advance to the Championship game in the 23rd annual Rivier University Men's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament. The Gators (3-0 overall) advanced to the championship with a 77-70 win over Rivier University (0-3) in the first game of the tournament while Southern Maine (2-1) earned their trip to the Championship with an impressive 98-89 triumph over 2014 Tip-Off Tournament Champion, Colby-Sawyer College (3-1).

Game One: Pine Manor College 77, Rivier University 70 (Final)

Sophomore Andre Ruff (Chicago, Ill.) collected 18 points and senior Anthony Simmons (Stamford, Conn.) added 16 points, however it was not enough as the Pine Manor College Gators pulled out a 77-70 win over the Raiders in the opening game of the Rivier Tip-Off Tournament.

Pine Manor was paced by the 19 point reserve effort from sophomore Chancie Williams (Hartford, Conn.). Three of the five starters for the Gators reached double-digit points with sophomore Taverick Roberson (Pittsfield, Mass.) leading the charge, netting 16 points in the contest. Freshman Rasheed Bell (Boston, Mass.) and sophomore Curtis Hyman (New Britain, Conn.) totaled 12 and 10 points, respectively, as Pine Manor returns to the Rivier Tip-Off Tournament for the first time. Hyman also finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double effort.

Rivier also saw freshman Isaiah Ruffen (Haverhill, Mass.) shoot 4-for-5 from the floor for a 10 point night. Junior Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.) pulled down a team high 8 rebounds.

Game Two: University of Southern Maine 98, Colby-Sawyer College 89 (Final)

Southern Maine used a 54 point second half performance as they defeated 2014 Rivier Tip-Off Tournament Champion, Colby-Sawyer College, 98-89.

The Huskies were paced by senior Cole Libby (Buxton, Maine) who had 18 points and received a 16 point night out of senior Jose Novchanthavong (Westbrook, Maine). Southern Maine also saw double-digit efforts from juniors Zach Leal (York, Maine) – 13 points, Atencio Martin (Kittery, Maine) – 12 points and senior Aaron Toman (Gardiner, Maine) – 11 points.

Colby-Sawyer senior Peter Donato (Portland, Maine) led all scorers with 31 total points in the late contest. Donato was able to knock down 12 shot from the floor and went 7-for-10 from the line to account for all of his points. Senior Wol Majong (Manchester, N.H.) continues his march toward 1,000 career points as he added 17 for the Chargers. Senior Jake Maynard and sophomore Taylor Grande (Bedford, N.H.) chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Championship game between Southern Maine and Pine Manor is scheduled for 2pm tomorrow afternoon. The Raiders and Chargers will square off in the consolation game beginning at 12pm inside the Muldoon Gymnasium.