Men's Basketball falls in Tournament Championship to Fisher College

(Nashua, N.H.) The 24th annual Rivier University Tip-Off Tournament has officially come to a close and it was the Falcons of Fisher College who took home the Championship plaque with a 70-53 win over Rivier for their first Tip-Off Tournament title. Senior Kyle Holmes (Hamden, Conn.) of Fisher was named the tournament MVP after totaling 43 points and 18 rebounds in the two tournament wins.

Championship Game: Fisher College 70, Rivier University 53 (Final)

A solid effort from the young Rivier squad held the Fisher offense in check over the first 20 as they entered the locker room trailing 34-30. However, a few defensive lapses and some missed opportunities allowed the Falcons to go on 24-4 run to open the second half and essentially put the game out of reach.

Freshman Tristian Givens (Windsor, Conn.) was selected to the All-Tournament team as he led the team with 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the floor. Senior Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.) earned the All-Tournament nomination after recording eight point and eight rebounds in the championship game. Given finished the tournament with 52 points while Francis accumulated 20 points and 15 boards.

Junior AbdoulNasser Mika (Boston, Mass.) contributed with eight points and five rebounds off the bench for Rivier.

Holmes went for a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds as Fisher earned the 2016 Tournament Championship. The all-around effort from Holmes was supported by classmate Cooper Neal (Fresno, Calif.), who also was named All-Tournament, as he chipped in with 18 points and nine rebounds. Senior Darrell Grady (Staten Island, N.Y.) had eleven points and four assists while junior Roger Hamel finished with seven points for Fisher.

Rivier, now 1-2 on the season, will enjoy the next two days off before returning to action when they host New England College on Tuesday night. After playing three games in three days, Fisher will also enjoy two days off before hosting Lyndon State on Tuesday night.

Consolation Game: Lesley University 92, Unity College 73 (Final)

The Lynx were able to salvage a spilt of their tournament weekend as they defeated Unity College, 92-73 in the consolation game this afternoon at the Muldoon Gymnasium.

Lesley's offensive attack was led by junior Joey Martin's (Melbourne, Fla.) 23 points and sophomore Xeo Golding (Windermere, Fla.) provided addition support with 19 points. Senior Devon Mayo (Newport News, Va.) was the Lesley selection to the All-Tournament team as he finished with 15 points and senior Marquise Johnson (Hampton, Va.) complied six points and six rebounds. Sophomore William Cuffee (Amherst, Mass.) was the defensive leader with eight rebounds over his 13 minutes of action.

Shooting threat senior Sean Tocci (Bangor, Maine) led the Rams with 25 points on the afternoon and rounds out the All-Tournament team after a solid weekend. Freshman Donato Cieri (Weehawken, Mass.) was electric off the bench as he totaled 22 points and three assists and classmate Conor Henry (Newburyport, Mass.) finished with 9 points and 11 rebounds.

Lesley (2-1 overall) will be back in action as they welcome Wentworth Institute of Technology for their home opener on Tuesday night. Unity, meanwhile, will have plenty of time off as their next scheduled game is slated for December 1st at the University of Maine-Presque Isle.

2016 Rivier University Tip-Off Tournament: All-Tournament Team

Kyle Holmes (Sr.), Fisher College – MVP

Cooper Neal (Sr.), Fisher College

Kevin Francis (Sr.), Rivier University

Tristian Givens (Fr.), Rivier University

Devon Mayo (Sr.), Lesley University

Sean Tocci (Sr.), Unity College