Rivier University coach Lance Bisson has stepped down with eight games to go in the season. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It’s been a season to forget for the Rivier University men’s basketball team, but Wednesday was one day the Raiders will remember for all the wrong reasons.

That’s because in a somewhat surprising move, the school announced last night that head coach Lance Bisson has stepped down, effective immediately. Assistant Jim Migneault will take over as interim coach for the rest of the season, and former Raider standout Ian Wade has joined the staff to assist Migneault. The Raiders, 2-15, had been mired in an 11-game losing streak.

Bisson was the just the third men’s hoop head coach in Raiders history, after original coach Jim Domoracki and then Dave Morissette, the latter who guided the Raiders for 17 seasons. Bisson’s career mark, though, was a tough 25-136 over six full seasons and the majority of two others. The program did not play in 2020-21 due to the pandemic.

“I think it’s fair to say that when we go with personnel moves it’s a tough time,” Rivier athletic director Jonathan Harper said. “We have to take everyone into consideration, the student athletes and the coaching staff. We have to pay attention to our coaches and support them as best we can. When a decision is made, we have to work with our student athletes … Tomorrow is a new day. …

“I’ve got to tell you, I appreciate everything Lance has done, both as a student athlete and a coach. He’s given a lot to the program and the city of Nashua for a long time. And I really honestly do wish him nothing but the very best in his next venture.”

Harper would not divulge if the decision was made by Bisson alone. It’s unusual to see a change with just eight games remaining in the season, instead of waiting until after the season’s conclusion to go one way or the other. Why did this happen now?

“That’s a fair question,” Harper said. “I’ll defer to what (Bisson) has to say from his point of view. … There’s eight to go, hopefully the team can rally and come together as a team and we’ll see how it goes.”

Bisson declined comment Wednesday but said he will issue a statement today. As Harper alluded, Bisson is a Rivier grad, class of 2009, and played on the only Raider hoop team to win the Great Northeast Athletic Conference back in 2007. He is also a graduate of Nashua North, and was an assistant under Morissette before taking over when Morissette resigned early in the 2015-16 season to take a job in the private sector so he could watch his kids in high school play.

Bisson was named the permanent coach in the late spring of 2016, but the Raiders mainly struggled until last season when they went 10-15 overall, 6-10 in the conference before falling in the first round of the GNAC tourney to Norwich. They had one of the GNAC’s best players in senior transfer Miles Gillette.

But this year, without Gillette, was a struggle. The Raiders were 2-4 after a 78-57 win over Lesley University back on Nov. 20, but that was their last win. They were in most of the games during the losing streak but lost by double digits their last four, including what proved to be Bisson’s finale, a 68-55 loss at Colby Sawyer Tuesday night.

Harper said that the school is “completely focused on the student athlete experience” and will conduct a national search for Bisson’s permanent replacement. Harper said he didn’t want to commit to a timeline or “rush it.”

“It’s the first time Rivier has done a men’s basketball national search in quite some time,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re positioning to get the right person into the job. Recruiting’s a big part of this, so clearly you don’t want to take forever in a search.”

Harper was asked if it was more difficult to part ways, regardless of who made the ultimate decision, with someone so closely tied to the school as a respected alum and part of the campus community

“He is one of our own, and he always will be,” Harper said. “Since he is an alum of Rivier University, he will always be part of the family. I will support him in any way I possibly can for his future endeavors and I know the coaching staff and the administration joins me in that.”