Pride Win First GNAC Contest of Season

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Regis College men's basketball team defeated Johnson & Wales Saturday afternoon, 87-79, in their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup of the season.

Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) scored 25 points while shooting 50 percent from the field and hitting 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.) scored 14 points while collecting a career-best 15 rebounds in the contest. Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) went 8-of 11 from the field to finish with 18 points, and Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) added 12 points on four three-pointers.

Trinidad opened the contest scoring the first basket 47 seconds into the game. After Johnson & Wales scored the next four points, Dalger hit a jumper to knot things at four apiece. Brian Hogan-Gary then gave the Wildcats the lead with a dunk 4:53 into the game, but Dalger again responded, this time from beyond the arc to give the Pride a 7-6 lead.

With the Wildcats down 18-16 with 6:34 left in the first half, Justin Bullock finished a jumper while drawing a foul and completed the three-point play at the line to spark a 9-0 run. That was ended by Rosa with a three-pointer with 3:12 remaining in the first half.

Johnson & Wales closed out the half with a 6-0 run to go into halftime holding a 35-29 lead.

Early in the second half, Hogan-Gary hit a jumper, but a minute later Trinidad made a layup to shrink the lead to four. With 17:23 remaining in the second half, Thompson hit a three-pointer and followed up with a dunk 21 seconds later to cut the Wildcat advantage to 40-38.

After the teams traded baskets, Thompson again hit a three-pointer to put the Pride ahead 43-42. Dalger hit a layup to cap off a 10-0 Regis run.

After Justin Bullock hit a jumper for the Wildcats, Regis again went on an 8-0 run to garner a 58-44 lead. The Wildcats would cut the Pride lead to six points before the Pride hit a pair of free throws to close out the contest.

Johnson & Wales (7-6, 0-1 GNAC) faces Yale on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. They will then play Wesleyan on Tuesday, Jan. 14, before continuing GNAC play on Saturday, Jan. 18 against Saint Joseph's (Me.).

Regis (4-9, 1-0 GNAC) continues their campaign when they host Lasell in a non-conference contest at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Higgins Court. They will play Rivier on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m., before they host Albertus Magnus on Tuesday, Jan. 21.