Men’s Basketball Outlasts Lesley, 79-72

NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's basketball team used key free throws down the stretch to pull away from Lesley in non-conference action on Tuesday evening at the Muldoon Center.

The Raiders moved to 12-5 on the season, while the Lynx fell to 4-14 with the loss.

This is the first time since the 2010-11 campaign that Rivier has won 12 contests in a season.

Rivier's Devin Owens exploded for 17 points in the first half as he hit seven of his 13 field goal attempts as the Raiders trailed Lesley by one at halftime, 38-37. Defensively, Ra'Quan Groves recorded four steals and three rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

After the Lynx's lead increased to four on a Malachi Howard three-pointer to open the half, Groves responded with two straight buckets to tie the game, followed by an Owens turnaround jumper as Rivier regained the lead with 17:22 to play. Leading by just three points with 7:36 to play, the Raiders executed a 10-0 run over the next 4:06 to put themselves ahead by 12, with a Joe Melvin putback and Odarius Cade three-pointer capping off the run on back-to-back possessions. Lesley would only get as close as five points down the stretch as Rivier's free throw shooting sufficed to earn the Raiders a 79-72 victory.

Rivier shot 45.0% from the field while going 10-of-31 (32.3%) from three-point range while the Lynx were productive on offense themselves, shooting 57.1% from the field and over 50% from three in the game. Rivier went 8-for-12 at the free-throw line.

Rivier was outrebounded, 29-25, however, won the turnover battle as the Lynx turned the ball over 26 times compared to Riv's 13 giveaways.

Owens finished with a team-best 24 points on 50% shooting, followed by Cade who scored 22. Along with his scoring, Owens tacked on five steals, four rebounds, and two assists. Robenson Baguidy scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go along with four rebounds, two assists, and a block. Groves stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, eight rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Nikolas Pignone hit two of his five attempts behind the arc, finishing with six points. Melvin finished with four steals, four rebounds, three assists, and one block in the contest.

Rivier will return to GNAC play in a Wednesday, Jan. 24 showdown with Lasell with tip-off slated for 7:00 p.m. back at the Muldoon Center.