Men’s Basketball Holds Off Brooklyn for First Road Victory

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Rivier men's basketball team used a 23-point performance from Ghared Boyce to survive a second-half surge by Brooklyn as the Raiders came away with a 79-72 victory in non-conference play on Tuesday evening at West Quad Gymnasium. Rivier now sits at 4-1 on the season and is on its first winning streak since the 2013-14 campaign. The Bulldogs remain in search of their first win of the year, falling to 0-6 with the setback.

The Raiders jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a pair of Odarius Cade three-pointers in the opening 1:21. The lead would increase to 13 on a Devin Owens three just under four minutes later. Brooklyn would whittle its deficit down to eight on a David McFadden putback, forcing Rivier into a timeout. With the lead back up to 10, Rivier's Boyce continued to hit big shots as he cashed in three treys and a pair of free throws to help the guests hold a 37-21 lead at the half.

Boyce led all players at the break with 14 points on 4-of-5 (80%) shooting from behind the arc. He also accounted for all but four of the Raiders' bench points in the opening 20 minutes.

Rivier took its largest lead at 59-32 with 10:31 to play on a Ra'Quan Groves layup off a turnover. Despite the 27-point cushion, the Bulldogs would not go down without a fight. Serge Thraysbule (16) and Zuric Harvey (12) combined for 28 second-half points to help cut the lead to single digits towards the end of regulation. Even with the late scare, the Raiders were able to hit key free throws down the stretch to keep enough separation from the hosts to take a 79-72 victory.

Boyce finished 7-of-11 from three-point range in his second appearance of the season, logging 27:34 off the bench. Cade finished second in the scoring effort, notching 20 points while also recording six assists, five steals, and five rebounds. Woodson Jean Baptiste recorded his first double-double of the season scoring 10 points and hauling in 10 of the team's 46 boards.

Rivier now sits at 1-0 in the all-time series against Brooklyn.

The Raiders will rest up over Thanksgiving break before returning to action against UMass Boston on Tuesday, Nov. 28 with tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.