By Michael Letendre
St. Paul Catholic boys basketball standout Tommy Lorenzetti finally came to a decision in his next step of his basketball education.
He had options throughout the Northeast but in terms of fit, Lorenzetti saw Rivier University in Nashua, New Hampshire as the perfect landing spot.
And that’s where the excellent defender and sharpshooter will be playing collegiately next year in a very competitive league.
“I am thrilled to announce that I have committed to Rivier University to continue my academic and basketball career,” said Lorenzetti via Twitter on Friday. “Thank you to all my coaches, teammates, friends and family members that have supported me along the way. The journey continues.”
Rivier’s sport’s programs make up part of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and the institution has been a staple of NCAA Division III play for quite some time.
Due to the pandemic, the Raiders and the entire GNAC did not compete collegiately so Lorenzetti and the men’s basketball program is extremely excited to get the 2021-22 campaign underway in the late fall.
The Catholic institution is nestled in beautiful downtown Nashua which is always ranked as one of the safest cities in America.
Rivier is only a two hour drive from Bristol, just over the border of Massachusetts off of Route 3 in Southern New Hampshire.
The 6-foot guard had a tremendous senior campaign at St. Paul Catholic – helping the program to an 11-3 ledger in 2021.
Lorenzetti is a very good three-point shooter and should easily be able to adapt to the deeper trifecta line collegiately.
The senior had a tremendous season for the Falcons, knocking in a couple 20-point efforts in March which included a career-high 26 points against Crosby while dropping 24 against Torrington.
Lorenzetti is a reliable hoopster and you always know what you’re going to get on the court in terms of scoring, intensity and intelligence.
That meant 13-14 points a game scholastically and plenty of rebounds and assists to boot.
However, he’ll leave his mark on the collegiate level without even having to score.
He’s going to bring a little defensive intensity to the Rivier program and that’s what he built his game upon.
To end the season at St. Paul Catholic this year, Lorenzetti was named to the 2021 NVL Iron All-Conference team and was GameTimeCT All State Honorable mention.
Lorenzetti joins a list of more than a couple athletes from Bristol that suited up for Rivier over the years.
Lenny Rinas, a nifty guard from Bristol Central, had a tremendous season for the program in 2002 – averaging about 12 points-per-game that year under then coach David Morissette.
Another St. Paul/Bristol Central standout, Brian Lalonde, also suited up for the program in Nashua.
Lalonde did extremely well for a couple years in New Hampshire before transferring out to Albertus Magnus.
And Lorenzetti should be a perfect fit for the Division III program.
He was being recruited by several institutions including Wentworth, Elms College, the University of New England, Dean College, Western New England, and New England College, among others.
