MEN'S BASKETBALL

2007/2008 Raiders

HEAD COACH: Dave Morissette
PHONE: (603) 897-8579; dmorissette@rivier.edu

ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH: George Noucas (Springfield College '69)
ASSISTANT COACHES:  Lonnie Armstrong & Paul Williams
STUDENT ASSISTANT: 
MANAGER: Rachel Bourget & Matt Blair
CAPTAINS: Jeff Carpenter
ATHLETIC TRAINER: Keith Rupp

For recaps of previous games, click here.

Jeff Carpenter Selected to Senior All Star Game

April 2, 2008

Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, NH) was selected to play in the New England Division-3 All Star Game.  The game will be played at Babson College on Sunday April 13 @ 3:00pm.  Jeff is the fourth player in Rivier's 16 years of Men's Basketball to be selected to this event that features the top seniors in New England college basketball.  Carpenter in the only player in GNAC history to score over 1,500 points and grab over 1,000 rebounds.

Three Raiders earn NH All-State Honors

March 12, 2008

Nashua, NH -  Three Raiders earned All State Honors.  Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, NH) was selected to the first team for the second consecutive year. Junior Lance Bisson (Nashua, NH) was selected to the second team. Coach Morissette was selected as co-coach of the year.

NH Men’s Division III 1st Team

Tyler Kathan - Keene State College 
Jeff Carpenter - Rivier College 
Duncan Szeliga - Colby-Sawyer College 
Ryan Jaziri - New England College 
Ben Huntington - Plymouth State University
       
NH Men’s Division III 2nd Team
       
Travon Little - Keene State College 
Lance Bisson - Rivier College 
Nick Drouin - Keene State College 
Chris Hanson - Daniel Webster College 
David Rosso - Colby-Sawyer College

NH Men’s Division III Player of the Year

Tyler Kathan - Keene State College

NH Men’s Division III Rookie of the Year
 
Chris Hanson - Daniel Webster College

NH Men’s Division III Coach of the Year 

David Morissette - Rivier College 
Bill Foti - Colby-Sawyer College

Carpenter Named to GNAC First Team

February 29, 2008

Nashua, NH - Senior Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, NH) ended his career as the only player in GNAC history with over 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds was selected to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference First Team.  He ended his career with 1,532 points and 1,001 rebounds.

FIRST TEAM
Jeremy Shannon- Guard- Sophomore- Emerson Lowell, MA
Rob Williams-Hinton- Guard- Junior- Emmanuel Oak Park, MI
Japhet Kerr- Guard- Senior- Johnson & Wales Mt. Kisco, NY
Jose Guitian- Center- Junior- Lasell Miami, FL
Jeff Carpenter- Forward- Senior- Rivier Meredith, NH

SECOND TEAM
Ben Chase- Forward- Senior- Emerson- Newburyport, MA
Mack Spellman- Forward- Junior- Emmanuel Clinton, NY
Greg Samuels- Forward- Senior- Johnson & Wales Philadelphia, PA
Jaime Crawford- Forward- Senior- Lasell Coral Springs, FL
Elbie Murphy- Forward- Junior- Saint Joseph’s (ME) Loudonville, NY

THIRD TEAM
Will Dawkins- Guard- Senior- Emerson- Springfield, MA
Tirone McCray- Forward- Senior- Johnson & Wales Brockton, MA
Dwayne Powell- Guard- Senior- Lasell- Lauderdale Lakes, FL
Jerrold Williams- Guard- Junior- Norwich Norwalk, CT
Raymond Eatmon- Center- Junior- Saint Joseph’s (ME) Huntington, NY

Player of the Year: Jeremy Shannon Emerson
Rookie of the Year: Chris Hanson Daniel Webster
Defensive Player of the Year: Jeremy Shannon Emerson
Coach of the Year: Hank Smith Emerson

Emmanuel Ends Rivier's Season in the GNAC Quarterfinals

February 26, 2008

Boston, MA, - The Emmanuel College Men's Basketball Team downed visiting Rivier College, 81-56, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinal action on Tuesday night. The Saints were paced by the play of senior forward Levi Smith (Tulsa, OK), who scored a career-high 27 points in 28 minutes of play. Smith hit 10 of 16 from the floor and 7 of 9 from the line, while blocking 3 shots in the win.

Tonight's three-six quarterfinal match-up featured eleven lead changes and six ties before Emmanuel came away with the win. The Saints entered halftime with a two-point advantage (30-28).

The Saints' defense disrupted Rivier's offense, causing the Raiders to shoot just 36% from the floor (16-44), while also forcing 23 Raider turnovers. The Saints took care of the ball, turning it over just five times in the game. Rivier out-rebounded Emmanuel, 42-32.

Smith's 27 points led a quartet of double figure scorers for the Saints. Junior guard Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, MI) hit for 18 points and grabbed 5 boards, while junior Mack Spellman (Clinton, NY) netted 17 points, including hitting two of three shots from beyond the arc. Sophomore point guard Mike Jackson (New York, NY) provided the Saints with a spark off the bench, chipping in with 10 points in the win.

Rivier was led by the strong play of senior forward Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, NH). Carpenter scored 20 points and hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds, while dishing out 5 assists for the Raiders. Senior forward Danny Ford (Exeter, NH) added 15 points and 7 rebounds in the effort.

With tonight's win, Emmanuel improved to 17-9 overall, while Rivier fell to 13-13 on the season. The Saints will now advance to the GNAC semifinals on Thursday night (2/28). Emmanuel will travel to Auburndale, MA to take on the 2nd-seeded Lasers of Lasell College at 7pm.

Rivier Cruises Past Daniel Webster 86-72

February 23, 2008

Nashua – Looking for momentum to carry into the Great Northeast Athletic Conference playoffs, the Daniel Webster men’s basketball team stayed close but went on to drop an 86-72 decision to host Rivier Saturday afternoon at Muldoon Gymnasium.

The Eagles (7-18, 5-13 GNAC) will head to the post-season regardless, thanks to a Mount Ida loss to Lasell that gave the Eagles the eighth and final seed for the tourney which tips off this coming Tuesday night. The Eagles will travel to Emerson to face the top seed Lions at 7:00 p.m.

It will be the second consecutive post-season appearance for the Eagle program in their final season as GNAC members. Daniel Webster joins the newly formed New England Collegiate Conference next year.

Brian Inge finished as the high man for the Eagles with 20 points and added seven rebounds, while Adam Landry added 10 points. A.J. Hemingway added nine while Chris Hanson and Steve Savage chipped in with eight points each.

Jeff Carpenter led the Raiders (12-12) with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Felipe Lima notched 14 and Lance Bisson and Danny Ford chipped in 11 each. Calvin Akers kicked in eight points and a game best 15 rebounds.

Rivier led 42-41 at the half, but took control with a 10-run while holding the Eagles scoreless over the first 5:34 of the second and the Eagles could pull no closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Rivier Defeats St. Joes 77-66 in GNAC Play

February 21, 2008

Nashua, NH - Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponent Rivier College defeated St. Joe's on Thursday evening, 77-66, behind 47 points from a pair of Raiders. SJC falls to 12-12 overall and is now 10-7 in conference play. SO Alberto Rue (Jamaica Plain, MA) paced the Monks with 18 points, all in the second half, in the losing bid. A pair of Raiders accounted for 47 points as junior Lance Bisson (Nashua, NH) netted 26 points and senior Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, NH) scored 21 points. Rivier improves to 12-12 overall and 9-8 in GNAC play with the win.

Neither team held more than a four point lead until the Raiders managed a 11-3 run that gave them a ten point lead, 35-25, with two minutes to go in the first half. Freshman center D.J. Poitras (Bow, NH) hit a jumpshot to conclude the Rivier surge.

The Raiders maintained the ten point lead and held a 37-27 advantage going into recess. The SJC deficit would increase to 17 points, 50-33, as the Rivier offense outscored the Monks 13-6 in the opening four minutes of the second half.

Alberto Rue scored eight points in the next two minutes of play and SO Ray Eatmon (Huntington, NY) hit a jumpshot to narrow the Raider lead to 8 points, 55-47, and cap a 14-5 Monks run with 12 minutes left in the contest.

Rivier fired back with a 9-2 run that included six points from Lance Bisson to extend their lead to 15 points with six minutes to play. The Raiders converted on all eight of their charity stripe attempts in the final 15 seconds of the game to effectively put an end to the Monks rally effort.

Johnson & Wales Men’s Basketball Downs Rivier, 90-82

February 19, 2008

Providence, R.I. -- Senior Greg Samuels (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored a career-high 39 points and added four rebounds to lead the Johnson & Wales men’s basketball team to a 90-82 victory against Rivier in Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Harborside RAC on Tuesday evening.

Senior Tirone McCray (Brockton, Mass.) tallied 17 points and added six rebounds and three assists while sophomore Darren Faust (Queens, N.Y.) had 19 points, five boards and five assists in the win for the Wildcats. Senior Japhet Kerr (Mt. Kisco, N.Y.) rounded out the double figure scorers for JWU with 10 points and four assists.

Rivier was led by junior Lance Bisson (Nashua, N.H.) with 29 points, nine assists and six rebounds while senior Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, N.H.) added 26 points and five boards in the setback for the Raiders.

Johnson & Wales jumped out to an early lead and had an 18-11 advantage after a hree-pointer by Faust with 16:28 left in the first half. Rivier responded with a 15-7 and held a 26-26 lead after a jumper by Carpenter with 9:03 on the clock. The Wildcats then used a 19-0 run of their own, capped by a jumper by senior McCray to take the 44-26 lead with 4:00 on the clock. JWU took a 48-32 lead into halftime after shooting 55.2% from the field.

The Wildcats led by as many as 19 points early in the second half before Rivier started chipping away at the lead. The visiting Raiders cut the lead to just five points when a layup by Bisson made the score 80-75 with 1:21 left. That would be as close as the Raiders would get, however as the Wildcats hit seven of eight from the line in the last minute to hold on for the 90-82 victory.

EMERSON SURVIVES RAIDER SCARE IN OT THRILLER, 72-70

February 16, 2008

NASHUA, N.H. - Rivier College's (11-11, 8-7 Great Northeast Athletic Conference), Jeff Carpenter missed the first of a two shot foul with no time remaining in overtime to give Emerson College (20-3, 13-3 GNAC) a 72-70 victory in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest. The victory for Emerson sets up a first-place showdown with Emmanuel College on Tuesday night.

Emerson, playing without second leading scorer and rebounder Will Dawkins who was out with the flu, rallied from an 11 point deficit after Rivier's Kevin Harrington hit a three-point shot with 16:18 remaining in the contest. The Lions scored 16 of the next 18 points to take a 50-47 lead, but Harrington hit another trifecta to pull the Raiders even with 9:48 left. Emerson was able to take a 55-54 lead with at the 5:08 mark on a three-ball from Tommy Messinger (Fr., Florence, Mass.). The Lions increased the lead to 59-55 on a Bryan Rouse (So., East Greenwich, R.I.) layup, but a 10-1 run for Rivier saw the Lions down 65-60 with 1:13 remaining in regulation.

Ben Chase (Sr., Newburyport, Mass.) started the rally with a deep three-pointer at 1:02, and after Rivier's Lance Bisson missed two free throws with 10 seconds left, Emerson's Jeremy Shannon (So., Lowell, Mass.) drove the length of the floor and hit a layup to tie the game with three ticks on the clock. Bisson missed a jumper at the buzzer to send the game to the extra period.

The first half was close throughout with five ties and a dozen lead changes. Rivier's 37-30 halftime advantage was the largest lead of the half.

Rivier Runs Away From Suffolk 85-75

February 12, 2008

NASHUA, N.H.-- Junior Lance Bisson (Nashua, N.H.) scored 24 points to lead five players in double figures as Rivier overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to post an 85-75 Great Northeast Athletic Conference men’s basketball victory over Suffolk Tuesday evening at the Muldoon Center.

The host Raiders (11-10, 8-6 Great Northeast) trailed 45-32 at the break but blistered the nets at a 53 percent clip after intermission en route to their triumph, as the visiting Rams (2-10, 1-14 Great Northeast) used sharp shooting from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes of play to build their advantage. Suffolk shot just 29 percent from the floor in the second half, including 22 percent from three-point range, in suffering the setback.

Senior Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, N.H.) added 18 points and seven rebounds in the win for Rivier, which also received 14 points, nine boards, four assists and four steals from senior Danny Ford (Exeter, N.H.). Junior Felipe Lima (Nashua, N.H.) chipped in with 11 points and six caroms off the bench for the Raiders, who also received 10 points and six rebounds from senior Calvin Akers (Meredith, N.H.) as the hosts committed just six turnovers on the evening while taking advantage of 15 Ram miscues.

Freshman Mike Fleming (Exeter, N.H.) led four players in double figures with 18 points, including four three-pointers, in the setback for Suffolk, which also received a double-double effort of 16 points and 10 rebounds from freshman Mario Massimino (East Haven, Conn.). Junior Brian Small (Exeter, N.H.) chipped in with 15 points and seven boards for the visitors, while sophomore Alan Jaziri (Norwich, Conn.) added 12 points and four caroms for the Rams, as each team had 46 rebounds for the contest.

Suffolk hosts Lasell in a Great Northeast outing on Saturday afternoon at Regan Gymnasium that begins at 2:00 p.m., while Rivier hosts Emerson in a Great Northeast match-up on Saturday afternoon at the Muldoon Center that tips-off at 1:00 p.m.

Mount Ida Hits 75 foot shot at the Buzzer to Defeat Rivier 58-55

February 9, 2008

Nashua, NH - The Mount Ida College Men’s Basketball team grabbed its third Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win, their first on the road of the season, over Rivier College this past Saturday. Mount Ida improved to 3-10 in the GNAC and 6-14 overall as Rivier fell to 7-5 in the conference and 10-9 overall.

The first half of the contest was controlled by the on target shooting and defense by the Mustangs. Michael Dunham (Salem, NH/Salem) led the offense with all of his 11 points in the first stanza in which nine came off of three pointers. MIC shot 50% from the field and held the Raiders to just 30 points on 40% shooting. Despite the hot hands from the field, Mount Ida was unable to capitalize on their free throw attempts only making 2-11 attempts in the first. At the end of the half the Mustangs held onto a six point lead heading into the locker room with the score 36-30.

The final 30 seconds of the game would be filled with drama. After falling behind by three, the Raiders would tie the game on the first of two free throws with less than a second left on the clock. The Raiders missed the second attempt and Bennett grabbed the game’s biggest rebound as the Mustangs called timeout with eight tenths of a second remaining. The Mustangs in-bounded the ball to Cary (Standish, ME/Bonny Eagle) who launched a shot from 80 feet away and drained it to give the Mount Ida a 58-55 win.

Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, NH) once again led Rivier with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Rivier Will host Suffolk University on Tuesday night.

Emmanuel Tops Rivier in Boston 69-58

February 2, 2008

Boston, MA, - The Emmanuel Men's Basketball team knocked off visiting Rivier College, 69-58, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match-up in the Jean Yawkey Center on Saturday afternoon. The Saints improved to 13-6 on the season and 11-1 in GNAC play, while Rivier fell to 10-9 overall and 7-5 in the conference.

This was Emmanuel's second win over Rivier this season. The Saints stopped the defending GNAC champs in Nashua, NH just two weeks ago, 80-70. This afternoon's game featured 3 lead changes and 4 ties. Emmanuel out-rebounded Rivier, 52-38, and scored 12 points off Raider turnovers.

The Saints were led by junior guard Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, MI), who hit for 17 points and grabbed 5 boards. Senior forward Levi Smith (Tulsa, OK) chipped in with 10 points and hauled in 7 rebounds. Junior forward Mack Spellman (Clinton, NY) led the Saints on the boards with 10 rebounds.

Emmanuel got huge minutes from its bench. Freshman forward Chris Puzacke (Torrington, CT) pounded the Raiders inside, hitting 4 of 5 shots from the floor, scoring 9 points in 18 minutes. Sophomore guard Zach Luster (Provincetown, MA) and rookie guard Torrey Joyner (Bridgeport, CT) provided an offensive spark in the second half, combining for 8 quick points and shooting 4 for 7 collectively. Sophomore point guard Mike Jackson (New York, NY) came off the bench to dish out a team-high 4 assists in his 18 minutes of play.

Rivier had three players scoring in double figures. Senior guard John McAllen (Berwick, ME) hit five three-pointers, knocking down 17 points for the Raiders. Junior guard Lance Bisson (Nashua, NH) shot 5 for 10 from the floor and was perfect from the line, scoring 17 points in the effort. Senior forward Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, NH) posted the game's only double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Click here for past games.