Men’s Basketball Shoots Past UMass Boston, Improves to 5-1

BOSTON, Mass. – Rivier men's basketball hit 17 three-pointers at a 40.5% rate to help get past UMass Boston, 90-78, in non-conference action on Tuesday night at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

Four players finished with double-digit point totals as the Raiders continued their dominating 5-1 start, with two wins now coming away from home court. The Beacons stumbled to 1-6 with the setback.

The Raiders evened up the all-time series with UMass Boston at 1-1.

Rivier got out to a quick 14-point lead, as a pair of Ghared Boyce threes and a Robenson Baguidy three made it 22-8 in favor of the Raiders just 8:06 into the contest. Following the media timeout, the Beacons would ignite for a 20-3 run over the next 7:50 to take their first lead of the contest, 28-25, with 4:16 left in the half. Rivier would take the lead back on a three by Baguidy with under a minute left, but Emanuel Zayas answered with a pull-up jumper to give UMass Boston a one-point edge at the break.

UMass Boston's Ish Fofana led all scorers with 14 points at the half. Rivier's Woodson Jean Baptiste registered seven of the team's 25 first-half rebounds.

In the second half, Rivier would again trail by as many as six before the Raiders' shooters began to take over late. Boyce and Devin Owens knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to put Rivier back in front, 71-65, forcing UMass Boston into a timeout with 6:18 to play. With the Beacons looking to get back into the game late, a pair of Baguidy free throws followed by an Owens three put Rivier up by 14 with 1:46 remaining. A corner three-pointer from Nikolas Pignone gave Rivier its largest cushion of the contest of 15 points with 47 seconds left as the Raiders hung on to the lead until the final buzzer.

Owens led the way offensively with 23 points on 7-14 shooting, including 5-10 from three-point range. The Irvine, Calif. native added four rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Groves and Boyce each finished with a double-double, as Groves scored 20 points on 44.4% shooting while hauling in 13 boards while Boyce scored 17 points on 62.5% three-point shooting while taking down 10 rebounds. Baguidy was lights out from three-point range, connecting on four of his six attempts to help reach 18 points while dishing out three assists and notching three steals.

The Raiders outrebounded the Beacons, 46-33.

Rivier returns home to Muldoon Gymnasium on Thursday, Nov. 30 in a 5:00 p.m. tip-off against non-conference opponent Salem St.