Pride Men’s Hoop Pulls Away for 80-69 Victory

NEW YORK CITY – Regis College took control of its game against Sarah Lawrence College late in the first half and maintained that momentum through most of the second half, as the Pride defeated the Gryphons, 80-69, Sunday afternoon in the third place game of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament at the Hunter College Sportsplex.

Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) shot 10-of-17 from the field as he tied his season high with 21 points, plus he earned seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocked shots. Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) finished with 13 points and four assists, Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) was perfect from the field (4-of-4) as he scored 12 points, and Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) added 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and three steals.

The two teams traded the lead during the first seven minutes of the game, but the Gryphons put together a 9-2 scoring run over the next four minutes to pull ahead, 27-20. The Pride responded with a 13-3 scoring run, bookended by Wilkerson baskets, to take a 33-30 advantage.

Sarah Lawrence (1-2) tied the game at 35-35 late in the first half on a free throw by Austin Jones, but Regis closed out the half with its own 9-2 scoring run, capped by a three-pointer from Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.). The Gryphons kept the game within six at 49-43 early in the second half on a layup by B.J. Sanders, but the Pride pulled away thanks to a 17-4 scoring run, starting with another three-pointer from Rosa and featuring six points by Afonja.

Sanders led all players with 31 points, shooting 11-of-17 from the field and 9-of-13 from the free throw line, plus he pulled down eight rebounds and collected four steals. Gabriel Eng hit four three-pointers as he finished with 14 points, five assists, and two steals.

The Pride shot 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the field, their best field goal shooting performance since hitting 59.6 percent of their attempts against Norwich Jan. 30, 2018. Led by Shawn Wedderburn (Bronx, N.Y.) with a career-high 15 rebounds, Regis won the rebounding battle, 36-25, and scored 25 points off 18 Gryphon turnovers. However, the Pride still committed 23 turnovers of their own, leading to 21 points by Sarah Lawrence.

Regis (2-2) heads back on the road, but on a much shorter trip, traveling west on Route 30 to face Framingham State Tuesday night, Nov. 20, beginning at 8 p.m.