REGIS RALLIES PAST BECKER IN OT, 66-64

WESTON, Mass. – Carlos Bermudez-Glean (Boston, Mass.) knocked down two freethrows with less than three seconds remaining in overtime and the Pride held on for a thrilling, 66-64, overtime win over visiting Becker College on Monday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball action. With the win, the Pride improve to 9-14 overall and 9-5 in the NECC, while the Hawks fall to 12-12 and 8-7 in league games.

Bermudez-Glean stepped in the passing lane to steal the ball during Becker's final possession of overtime and went the length of the floor where he was fouled attempting a layup with only 2.7 seconds remaining. The freshman calmly stepped to the line and buried both freebies and the Pride escaped with the win when Tyler Roberson's (Irvington, N.J.) three-point attempt as time expired hit the back of the rim.

Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) opened the scoring for the Pride with a triple on Regis' first possession and the Pride eventually took a 10-6 lead on an Ahmad Charles (Cambridge, Mass.) three nearly four minutes later. Donovin Ford-Hayes (Windsor Locks, Conn.) made it a one possession game with a three-ball of his own on the Hawks' next possession, and a Yahmad Rountree (Waterbury, Conn.) layup tied the score at 11-all with 13:01 to play. Following an Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) layup that gave the Pride a 14-13 lead, Becker rattled off seven straight points to take a 20-14 lead with just over eight minutes to play.

Peana made it a three-point game as he was fouled tipping home his own miss and converted the three-point-play to make it a 20-17 game. Tyler Roberson answered with a 5-0 run of his own to make it an eight point game and force a Regis timeout. The Pride's Evin Matted (Hartford, Conn.) buried a 19-foot jumper out of the break, but Roberson answered with two more freebies and Rountree added a pair of his own to give the Hawks their largest lead of the half, 29-19.

In the final minute, Ahmad Charles converted two freethrows, and after a stop by the Pride with 13 seconds left, Mike McCloskey (Winter Springs, Fla.) threw a skip pass to the opposite side of the floor to an open Charles, who rose up and buried the deep three as time expired, making it a 29-24 game headed into the break.

Charles led the Pride with nine points and five rebounds at the half, while Peana added six point of his own. Donovin Ford-Hayes and Yahmad Rountree led Becker with eight points each, with Roberson chipping in seven in the period.

Becker built a seven point lead just over four minutes into the second half as Rashaun Liggon (Elizabeth, N.J.) knocked down a jumper from the corner. Osanto Marc then took over the game for the Pride, going on a 9-2 run of his own with Matted adding a freethrow to make it a 10-2 run, and give the Pride the 42-41 lead with 11:02 to play. Becker answered with a run of its own as the Hawks went on a 15-4 stretch of its own over the next six minutes to take a 56-46 lead with only 5:04 remaining in regulation.

Regis responded this time, using its defensive pressure to force Becker into sloppy play, as the Pride quickly erased the 10 point deficit over the next three minutes to tie the game on an up-and-under reverse layup by Matted that knotted the score at 56-all with 1:49 to play. Both offenses stalled over the final minute-plus, but Ahmad Charles had a chance to win it in the closing seconds. Charles caught the ball at the top of the key and drove to his right, elevating for an 18-foot jumpshot that rattled off the back rim and spilled the game into overtime.

The Hawks struck first in the extra frame as Rountree tipped in his own miss to give Becker the early 58-56 lead. Ethan Peana gave the Pride their first lead of OT when he converted a three-point-play a couple of seconds later, staking the Pride to a 59-58 advantage. Roberson answered on the other end with a jumper to take the lead back for Becker, but Matted corralled a Bermudez-Glean missed three and slammed it home to put the Pride back on top 61-60 with 3:04 to play.

A 1-for-2 trip to the freethrow line from Rashaun Liggon tied the game at 61-all, and Ryan McLaughlin (Plymouth, Mass.) put the Hawks on top 62-61 with a freethrow of his own. The Pride came down on offense and Ahmad Charles found Chambers for his first basket since the opening minutes as the junior captain buried the 25-foot three-pointer to put the Pride back on top, 64-62. On the next Becker possession, Yahmad Rountree hit a spinning hook shot from 14-feet out tie the game back up, and the Hawks forced a Pride turnover with only 17 seconds remaining on the next Regis possession and called timeout.

Looking to run out the clock before taking the last shot, the Hawks set up a play as the clock ticked into the closing seconds. As the ball went to the left wing, Bermudez-Glean stepped into the passing lane and stole the pass, running down the court, drawing the foul and hitting both freethrows to seal the 66-64 win.

The Pride won the rebounding battle, 43-29, and had 16 offensive rebounds which led to 20 second chance points and contributed to 32 points in the paint. The Hawks won the turnover battle, 16-13, but the Pride converted those into 16 points off turnovers compared to just 10 for Becker.

Osanto Marc and Evin Matted led the Pride with 17 points apiece as Marc added eight rebounds and Matted posted a double-double with his game-high 12 rebounds. For the second straight game, Ahmad Charles reached a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Ethan Peana came off the bench to add nine points and five rebounds, while Bermudez-Glean scored six points and added three steals.

Yahmad Rountree scored 29 points on 11-of-22 shooting and added four rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Tyler Roberson added 13 points of his own, while Donovin Ford-Hayes joined him in double-digits with 10 points and added seven rebounds. Darius Sealy (Cambridge, Mass.) posted six points and a game-high four assists for Becker.

The Pride look to make it four-straight wins when they host Newbury College in a league game on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. Becker returns to action on Wednesday as well when they host Mitchell College in a 7:00 p.m. contest.