The Rivier men's basketball team had its moments in its second year under head coach Tom Glynn, right. (Courtesy photo by Nick Grace/Rivier Athletics)

Staff Writer

NASHUA – They’re in the midst of Portal Combat.

That’s what Division III college basketball coaches refer to this few weeks after their seasons end when they all spend time constantly chasing players who have already entered the transfer portal in beginning their recruiting plans for next season.

Search and refresh. Search and refresh. Just ask Rivier University men’s coach Tom Glynn.

“That’s what we call it, Portal Combat,” he said. “It’s become so important.”

Glynn would have rather been preparing for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference semifinal, but for the second straight year, the Raiders lost in the quarterfinals.

On the plus side, the Raiders had their first back-to-back winning seasons ever, following up last years biggest improvement in the nation with 14-12 overall record this year, 7-7 in the GNAC. The quarterfinal loss was to Saint Joseph (Conn.).

But if you go back to early January, the Raiders expected more, and it looked like they’d get that until they ran smack into an injury bug and seven game losing streak.

“We had our leading scorer (Bosse) out four games and Matt Constant, our second leading scorer, missed a number of games,” Glynn said. “And in the first semester, we could never get our starting lineup together.”

That’s thanks to Robinsen Baguidy pulling his hamstring. When the lineup got healthy, the Raiders won four straight and closed out the conference mark with a sixth seed at .500.

“I finally had my team,” Glynn said.

The Raiders through it all weathered the storm.

“The kids were resilient,” Glynn said. “This is my 11th year as a head coach and I’ve never had a season like this with different kids down with injuries. Just unlucky. But it was a great group of kids. I think February showed how could of a team we could have been all year.”

How unlucky were they? The Raiders had to go against one of the top programs in the country, let alone New England, in the GNAC quarters.

“Just unlucky seeding, unlucky bounces, injuries, and all of a sudden it was 14-12 final record,” Glynn said.

How did Glynn hold things together? They had three close losses to Anna Maria, Saint Joe’s (Conn.) and Albertus Magnus during the tough stretch that might have broken most teams.

“A three week stretch when we didn’t get the bounces, all close games,” Glynn said. “The kids realized we just had to get healthy and find a way to close games. Just having such great kids that held it together. … Everybody was contributing in a different way.”

Besides working on the roster, Glynn has also been working on next year’s schedule, looking to make the non-conference slate,especially in November-December, even tougher.

“We just got a couple of contracts with a couple of big-time teams in New England,” he said. “We’re going to try and take the next step next year and knock on wood hope the injury bug won’t hit us next year.”

The way to counteract that is depth. At the same time of recruiting incoming freshmen, Glynn is tackling the portal. That brought the Raiders Bosse, Constant, Cheikh Gueye and Joey Merrill of Derry. Bosse, son of former Raider standout Ketler Bosse, came after a standout career at Plymouth State and averaged 20 points a game for the Raiders.Constant was their leading scorer down the stretch and was 18.6 for the season. Merrill was a 12.3. All valuable components.

“Three Division II transfers and Bosse was an All-Conference Little East,” Glynn said. “So again we have to identify the right guys in the portal and continue to do a good job with the high school kids. We had a couple of freshmen and they filled a role this year, we get two or three more and identify the right guys in the portal. But we’ve got to get more depth.”

Glynn says he’s at Rivier at the right time with the improvements made on campus. The Raiders’ locker room at the Muldoon Center was completely renovated; there’s new buildings on campus, etc. “I just have to get out there and close the recruits,” he said. “I’m obviously here at the right time. … Everything’s all upgraded. No one else is building right now.”

The Raiders are bringing back the starting backcourt of Goffstown’s Baguidy and Constant plus a few freshmen who turn into sophomores.

“It’s exciting,” he said.

But college basketball is a different world. The portal, the extra COVID eligibility years which give grad students spots on rosters all over, have changed the landscape and Glynn admits “it’s helped me turn the program around quicker. To go from 2-23 to Rivier University having the biggest turnaround in the country (15-10), bringing in the grad students, transfers” was major. Two portal players a year ago who were seniors this year, Odarius Cade and Ra’Quan Groves made a difference the last two years.

“Those two kids more than anybody helped us change the program in two years,” Glynn said. “Just phenomenal.”

And they helped attract players like Bosse, etc. to follow suit.

“The work we did in the portal last year helped us get three good New Hampshire kids this year,” Glynn said. “It’s tough to get a kid when you’re team is not good. Last year we go out and get 15 wins, we can go get a Kyler Bosse. And this year we jump from eighth to sixth in the GNAC, so this year we should be able to get at least a Kyler Bosse.”

What will it take to get to that next level? The GNAC is a tough conference. The Raider women had a generational player in Lyric Grumblatt, went 11-3 in the conference and still couldn’t get a home game. In fact, they, too, lost to the Blue Jays on the road in the quarters, in the game right before the men did the same as part of a postseason doubleheader.

“It’s one of the better basketball leagues in New England,” Glynn said. “You have your traditional powers – Saint Joe’s of Maine, Saint Joe’s Connecticut, Albertus, Lasell is consistently winning between 17 and 20 every year. We’ve got to both maintain it but also take the next step. We’ve got ot keep working, keep grinding. We’ve got to work hard all spring and summer, our kids have to keep developing. It’s hard.

“Bottom line: There are no more easy wins out there.”

Glynn recalled when he was at Nichols College years ago, his teams won 25 games three years in a row. “A lot of the schools we beat,” he said, ” no longer exist. There are no more easy wins in college basketball.”

That’s because with small colleges closing – think Nashua’s Daniel Webster – the talent pool expands to fewer schools. Glynn has the Raiders playing Colby, Nichols, and Roger Williams next year, and then the GNAC’s top five or six teams “are loaded every year.”

What’s the balance between getting a team confidence in the non-conference portion of the schedule with some wins, or scheduling tough opponents to prepare the players for the rigors of the GNAC that’s ahead in January-February?

“It’s definitely a tough balance every year building that non-conference schedule,” Glynn said. “What I try to do when I take over a program is first try to schedule some wins and build some confidence in the kids. Winning shows the kids belief, more belief in what the coaches are doing.”

An example: Last year, early in the season, the Raiders beat Brandeis at the Muldoon.

“That changed everything,” Glynn said. “They’re one of the best teams in our region. … The winning does validate what you’re doing. Next year in my third year we’ve already scheduled harder. At the same time we have to go get a couple of those wins. It’s a tricky balance with the non-conference schedule. You’ve got to find some wins, but at the same time you have to build your team for January and February, because that’s what it’s going to come down to.

“Saint Joe’s Connecticut is not going away. Saint Joe’s Maine is not going away. We can’t take days off here.”

That’s why on the first day of the off-season, Glynn and his staff were on the phone all day recruiting. That night he had a conversation with his top target in the portal and his family.

The competition is fierce.

“We have to go get that kid, and that kid has to come here, produce and stay healthy,” Glynn said as an example. “This season is kind of what could have been, had a few of those kids stayed healthy the whole way.”

The goal? Get to play a home quarterfinal with a top-notch conference regular season. They’ve gone from a play-in game and road quarterfinal in 2024 to a road quarter this year.

“Now next year can we host that 3-6, host that 4-5,” Glynn said.

Glynn says now after his second year it feels like his program, like he is at home.

“It does,” he said. “I love being at Rivier. Of the three schools I’ve been the head coach at (Nichols, Rhode Island College, Rivier), it’s the most comfortable, most enjoyable place to work. (Athletic Director) Jonathan Harper has created a positive culture in the athletic department, and what he’s created really helps me create the right culture for basketball. I love being here and really, really excited for the future.”

The present hasn’t been too bad either.

When the Raiders got their 14th win in the final regular season game, Glynn got a text from Riv Athletic Director Jonathan Harper, congratulating him. Glynn just felt it was a formality after a win and thanked him, but then Harper informed him that his Raiders clinched a winning record for the second straight season, a program first.

“We’re trending in the right direction,” Glynn said.

Then it was back to Portal Combat.