Bosse Leads Men’s Basketball Past Lesley, 91-87

LEXINGTON, Mass. — Graduate Kyler Bosse scored 33 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Rivier men's basketball team to a 91-87 victory over Lesley on Thursday evening at Minuteman Gymnasium.

The Raiders improved to 4-1 for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign, while the Lynx fell to 2-4.

The Raiders found themselves down 19-14 midway through the first half, but back-to-back three-pointers from Bosse and junior Matt Constant gave Rivier a 20-19 lead with 8:08 remaining. Lesley responded with a bucket, but consecutive layups from graduate Ra'quan Groves forced a timeout at the 6:52 mark. A barrage of three-pointers, followed up by a layup from graduate Joey Merrill, extended the Raiders lead to 36-28 with just over three minutes to play in the half. The Raiders struggled to score in the closing moments, but Constant hit his fourth three-pointer of the half to give Rivier a 41-38 advantage at the break.

Rivier began the second half with three straight and-one layups from Bosse and Merrill, pushing their lead to 50-38 with just over 17 minutes remaining. Lesley continued to fight back, narrowing the deficit to just four points with 10:13 on the clock. The Raiders answered with a 12-7 run, capped by an acrobatic finish from senior Odarius Cade, extending their lead to 70-63 with 7:37 left in the closing frame. However, the Lynx battled back and refused to go away, cutting the lead to just one point with one minute remaining. Back-to-back layups from Groves and Constant put the game out of reach and the Raiders clinched a 91-87 win.

Bosse led the Raiders with 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting (68.4%), including 3-of-4 (75%) from beyond the arc, while also grabbing eight rebounds. Constant contributed 22 points on 5-of-10 shooting (50%), finishing a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line and adding six assists. Groves added 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting (53.3%) off the bench. Merrill chipped in nine points and five rebounds, while Cade played the role of playmaker, dishing out nine assists to five different Raiders.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday, Nov. 23 as they host Brooklyn at the Muldoon Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.