MELBOURNE, Australia – A recent Winona State University basketball player, Alier Riak, was stabbed fatally in an early morning street brawl in suburban Docklands. Riak, 23, suffered stab wounds to his upper body. He died shortly thereafter at Royal Melbourne Hospital. Police didn’t know immediately who the attacker was. A second man, age 26, was also stabbed. He was treated at Alfred Hospital and released. The street fight was in the Bourke Street entertainment district.
Australia career
Riak had signed a contract last month to play for a semi-professional Darwin Salties in Australia. Last season he played with the Warwick Senators of the Australia's National Basketball League. Senators coach Matt Flinn said he was "in disbelief." Flinn said he and Riak had talked just two days earlier "He was so excited, we both were, to start this new journey together," Flinn said.
Riak. At Winona State he studied mass communication and graduated in 2021.