Pride Rally for 82-78 Victory at Rivier

NASHUA, N.H. ­– Down by six points with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Regis College held Rivier University without a field goal down the stretch while scoring 11 points to rally for an 82-78 victory Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's collegiate basketball game at Muldoon Gymnasium.

Pharaoh Davis hit two free throws with 1:45 left in the second half to give Rivier a 77-71 lead, but, after a Regis timeout, Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) grabbed an offensive rebound and converted on the follow-up layup. Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) picked off the ball on Rivier's next possession, drove in for a layup while being fouled, and made the free throw to complete the three-point play and bring the Pride within one at 77-76.

The Raiders turned the ball over again, this time on an offensive foul, and Trinidad hit a turnaround jumper in the paint with 34 seconds remaining to put the Pride on top. Rivier missed a three-pointer, and Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Thompson, who was fouled and made both free throws to increase the Regis lead to three points.

Regis decided to foul a Rivier player before anyone could attempt a game-tying three-pointer. Davis made the first free throw, but committed a lane violation when he left the free throw line too early as he intentionally missed the second attempt. Thompson was fouled and made both free throws with 2.2 seconds on the clock to put the game away.

Trinidad hit 9-of-10 field goal attempts to lead the Pride with 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, his seventh double-double of the season. Thompson finished with 15 points and two steals, Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.) added 14 points and six rebounds, and Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) hit three three-pointers as he ended up with 11 points, four assists, and two steals.

Regis was down 15-9 nine minutes into the game before Rosa hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the contest. After Rivier reclaimed the lead at 21-17, the Pride once again came back, scoring nine unanswered points to pull ahead, 30-23. Thompson hit a layup and, later, a free throw in the final minute to give Regis a 36-31 halftime advantage.

Rivier (3-11, 0-1 GNAC) fell behind by as many as eight points six-and-a-half minutes into the second half on a traditional three-point play from Cam Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.). Issaiah Chappell hit a jumper and Jack McCarthy followed with a three-pointer to pull the Raiders within one at 57-56 midway through the second half.

After baskets by Trinidad and Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Rivier rattled off a 15-2 scoring run over the next four-and-a-half minutes, led by Chappell with six points and capped by a three-pointer from Nikolas Pignone and a tip-in by Tyler Bradanese. Wilkerson scored Regis' next eight points in a two-and-a-half minute span to keep his team in the game before contributing to the game-winning rally.

Chappell shot 7-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-4 from long distance, as he led the Raiders with 22 points. Davis finished with 14 points, Bradanese shot 5-of-7 from the field to contribute 11 points, and Pignone added nine points and a team-high six rebounds off the bench.

Rivier shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field, including 9-of-18 from behind the three-point line, and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Pride shot 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the field, including 8-of-23 from behind the three-point line, and 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the free throw line.

Regis (6-9, 2-0 GNAC) hosts nationally ranked Albertus Magnus in a key GNAC contest Tuesday, Jan. 21, starting at 7 p.m. The Pride will then honor Ademola Afonja by adding his name to the 1,000-point banner in Higgins Court Saturday, Jan. 25, during a conference game against Anna Maria beginning at 12 p.m.