Rau, Harvey, Latifi Recognized in GNAC Postseason Honors
WINTHROP, Mass. - After qualifying for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament for the third consecutive season, the Regis College men's basketball team placed three student-athletes on various GNAC postseason teams, as the conference office announced Monday, Feb. 27, the results of the award voting by the league's head coaches.
Sophomore forward Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) earned Second Team All-GNAC honors after leading the Pride with 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, seventh in the league in scoring and fourth in rebounding. He scored 407 points in 2022-23, the third-most by a Regis men's basketball player in a single season, plus he pulled down 214 total rebounds, the third-highest single-season total in program history.
Rau also completed the year with a free throw percentage of 85.1 percent (63-for-74), second in the GNAC and second-highest in a single season in Regis men's basketball history. He scored in double figures 19 times, including nine games with 20 or more points, highlighted by a career-high 33 points against Lasell Feb. 8, the third-highest single-game total in program history.
First-year forward Jamir Harvey (Robbins, Ill.) was voted to the GNAC All-Rookie Team after averaging 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Harvey, a four-time GNAC Rookie of the Week honoree, first broke through with a season-high 28 points on 13-for-17 field goal shooting along with 11 rebounds, four steals, and two blocks against Hunter College Nov. 12.
In total, Harvey reached double figures in scoring 13 times and notched five double-doubles during the season. He shot 54.73 percent (110-for-201) from the field, fifth in the GNAC and fifth-highest in a single season in program history. In the final eight games of the season, Harvey averaged 15.25 points per game on 58.5 percent field goal shooting (48-for-82), including five games above 60 percent.
Senior forward Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) was selected to the GNAC Men's Basketball All-Sportsmanship Team. Latifi started 16 of the team's 26 games, averaging 8.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He became the fifth player in program history to make at least 100 three-pointers during his collegiate career and moved into fourth place on the Regis made three-pointer list with 109 three-pointers.
Latifi scored a season-high 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field and 6-for-7 shooting from the free throw line in Regis' victory at Elms Jan. 21. Latifi is the 2022-23 Vice President of the Regis Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
The Regis men's basketball team posted a 14-12 record in 2022-23, its most victories in a season since 2014-15. The Pride went 10-8 during the GNAC regular season, the most league wins for the team since entering the conference in 2017-18, highlighted by a 93-91 victory over eventual GNAC Tournament champion Albertus Magnus Feb. 11, the first win over the Falcons in program history.
Regis College sponsors 20 intercollegiate sports, including men's basketball, within NCAA Division III as a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.