Pride Men’s Hoop Defeats Rivier, 72-59

WESTON, Mass. – Senior Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as Regis College raced out to a significant lead and then withstood a second half rally by Rivier University to defeat the Raiders, 72-59, Monday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Trinidad shot 11-for-18 from the field for his 24 points, plus he collected four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks. Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) notched his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists and Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) added 10 points and four assists.

The two teams exchanged baskets to open the game before Regis rattled off 12 unanswered points over the next four minutes to open a 14-2 advantage. The margin remained close to the same until the final two minutes of the half, as Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) hit consecutive three-pointers and Trinidad converted a traditional three-point play to close out a 9-2 scoring run and extend the Pride lead to 46-26 at halftime.

Rivier started the second half with a 17-3 scoring run over the first six-and-a-half minutes after the break, led by eight points from Miles Gillette, to close to within six at 49-43. After a three-pointer from Rau helped the Pride increase their lead back to 11 at 60-49, the Raiders scored the next six points, four of them from Pharaoh Davis, to cut their deficit to five with four-and-a-half minutes left in the second half, but Regis would put the game away with a 10-2 scoring run down the stretch.

Gillette led the Raiders with 22 points and 20 rebounds as he played all but the final 43 seconds of the contest, while Davis and Josef Buford scored 13 points apiece. As a team, Rivier shot 37.1 percent (23-for-62) from the field and 75 percent (12-for-16) from the free throw line, plus it won the rebounding battle, 44-36.

After hitting 18-for-34 field goal attempts in the first half, the Pride struggled offensively in the second half, finishing at 40 percent (24-for-60) from the field and 66.7 percent (18-for-27) from the free throw line. Regis dished out 18 assists while committing just 10 turnovers, plus it scored 17 points off 16 Rivier turnovers.

Regis College (6-7, 3-4 GNAC) makes the short trip to Newton to face Lasell University Wednesday, Jan. 26, starting at 7:30 p.m. before hosting nationally ranked University of Saint Joseph Saturday, Jan. 29, for a 1 p.m. tipoff. Rivier (6-10, 2-7 GNAC) hosts Emmanuel College Wednesday night at 8 p.m. and Norwich University Saturday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m.