Home Teams Prevail in GNAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Play-In Round
GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
WINTHROP, Mass. – No. 7 seed Regis and No. 8 seed Rivier both defended their home courts in the Play-In Round of the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Championship Tournament on Monday (Feb. 19). Both teams advance to the GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
The Pride defeated No. 10 seed Dean, 88-61, to advance, while the Raiders took down No. 9 seed Colby-Sawyer, 98-70.
Their next matchups will be against the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament with Rivier traveling to No. 1 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) and Regis making the trip to No. 2 seed Albertus Magnus. Tip off at USJ is scheduled for 7 p.m., while the Albertus game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
The other two quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday, feature No. 3 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) hosting No. 6 seed Emmanuel in one with No. 4 seed Lasell welcoming No. 5 seed Norwich. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Following the quarterfinal round, the four remaining teams will compete in the GNAC Semifinals, which are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 22. The two semifinal winners will then faceoff for the GNAC title in the championship game on Saturday, Feb. 24. The winner of the GNAC Championship game will be named the 2024 GNAC Men's Basketball Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
#7 Regis 88, #10 Dean 61
Recap courtesy of the Regis Athletic Communications Department.
WESTON, Mass. - Regis College used a hot-shooting first half, especially from behind the three-point line, on its way to an 88-61 victory over Dean College Monday afternoon in a first round game of the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Tournament at Higgins Court.
Zakaria Latifi led the Pride with a career-high 22 points as he missed just one field goal attempt in nine chances, making five three-pointers along the way. Justin Evelyn became Regis' all-time assists leader as he finished with 14 points and six assists, while Russell Rau broke the school record for career rebounds as he notched his 17th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Pride scored the first seven points of the game and then, after a three-pointer by AJ Weston and a jumper from Charles Walker, put together a 23-3 scoring run over a nine-minute span, including five made three-pointers. Regis would eventually take a 43-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Latifi opened the second half with a three-pointer as Regis rattled off a 12-2 scoring run through the first three minutes to increase its advantage to the largest of the game at 32 points (55-23). The Bulldogs were unable to reduce their deficit any lower than 20 points as the Pride cruised to the victory, ending Dean's season with a 9-17 record.
Weston, the leading scorer in the GNAC entering the game, led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Moussa Berete finished with 12 points and Walker contributed 10 points. As a team, Dean shot just 33.3 percent (22-for-66) from the field and 68.8 percent (11-for-16) from the free throw line.
Cameron Wilkins made a significant contribution to the first half run with 10 points and nine rebounds, and Jamir Harvey finished with nine points and eight rebounds. As a team, the Pride shot 49.2 percent (31-for-63) from the field, including 12-for-27 from behind the three-point line, and 82.4 percent (14-for-17) from the free throw line.
Regis College (14-12) heads to New Haven, Conn., to face Albertus Magnus College in a quarterfinal game of the 2024 GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament Tuesday, Feb. 20, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
#8 Rivier 90, #9 Colby-Sawyer 70
Recap courtesy of the Rivier Athletic Communications Department.
NASHUA, N.H. – Odarius Cade scored 40 points as the eighth-seeded Rivier men's basketball team soared to a 98-70 victory over No. 9 Colby-Sawyer in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Play-In Game on Monday night at the Muldoon Center. The victory marked the first time since the 2006-07 GNAC Championship that the Raiders were victorious in the conference tournament.
The Raiders improved to 15-11 and will face the tournament's top-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) in Tuesday night's GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at James A. Calhoun Gymnasium. The Chargers bowed out of the tournament with a 9-16 overall record.
Rivier led by as many as 21 in the first half as Cade finished a layup following a Robenson Baguidy steal with 3:09 left before the break. Cade pushed the pace with 21 points, while Devin Owens poured in 14 in the opening 20 minutes as the Raiders led 51-33.
Cade followed up his first-half performance with 19 points on 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) shooting including hitting 6-of-6 free throw attempts.
Rivier narrowly won the rebounding battle, 35-34, in the contest while also scoring 10 more points in the paint. The Raiders notched 16 points off turnovers to the Chargers' six. Rivier used 25 benched points with 20 of them coming from Ra'Quan Groves.
Both Cade and Groves led the rebounding efforts with eight apiece. Baguidy scored 11 points while recording eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals in the triumph.
2024 GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule
Play-In – Monday, Feb. 19
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#7 Regis def. #10 Dean, 88-61 | BOX
#8 Rivier def. #9 Colby-Sawyer, 98-70 | BOX
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 20
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#8 Rivier at #1 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 7 p.m.
#7 Regis at #2 Albertus Magnus, 7:30 p.m.
#6 Emmanuel at #3 Saint Joseph's (Maine), 7 p.m.
#5 Norwich at #4 Lasell, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 22
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#1/8 Winner vs. #4/5 Winner, TBD
#2/7 Winner vs. #3/6 Winner, TBD
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 24
Semifinal winners, TBD
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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