Pride Men’s Hoop Unable to Complete Comeback

STANDISH, Maine – After an even first half, Regis College fell behind in the second half before rallying to make it a one-possession game, but Saint Joseph's College was able to hold on for an 83-80 victory Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at the Harold Alfond Center.

Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) shot 11-for-17 from the field as he scored a career-high 24 points, plus he pulled down nine rebounds. In total, four Regis players reached double figures in scoring, as Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) finished with 14 points, Cam Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) also scored 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists, and Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.) added 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

Saint Joseph's hit three three-pointers in the first two minutes of the game to open a 9-2 advantage, and then Jack Casale made his second three-pointer of the half to give the Monks a 12-6 lead. The Pride responded with 13 unanswered points over the next four minutes, led by six points from Trinidad, to pull ahead, 19-12, midway through the first half.

After layups by Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Thompson extended the Regis lead back to eight at 23-15, the Monks put together a 10-2 scoring run, capped by a three-pointer from Ian Jennings, to tie the game at 25-25. In the final minute of the half, Trinidad made another layup, but David Keohan answered with a three-pointer to create a 36-36 tie heading into halftime.

The Monks hit four three-pointers in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second half as part of a 14-4 scoring stretch to open a 50-40 lead. The Pride responded with a 14-7 scoring run over the next five minutes to close to within one possession at 57-54, but Saint Joseph's held off Regis' rally, eventually increasing its lead back to nine at 78-69 on a three-pointer by Nicholas Curtis.

Germain hit a three-pointer, and Wilkins went 4-for-4 from the free throw line to close the Pride deficit to 80-77 with one minute left in regulation. Regis forced a Monk turnover, but the Pride missed two chances to bring themselves within one. After one Monk free throw, Trinidad hit a layup to make the score 81-79, and Curtis followed by missing one of two free throw attempts to keep it a one-possession game.

With time winding down, Wilkins was fouled while he grabbed an offensive rebound. After making the first free throw, he missed the second attempt, and Casale pulled down the defensive board. Casale made one of two free throws, but the Pride could not put together one final attempt at tying the game.

Curtis led the Monks with 23 points, while Casale notched a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Keohan finished with 15 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, and Tatsuaki Sakai contributed 12 points and five assists.

As a team, Saint Joseph's hit 50 percent of both their two-point field goal attempts (10-of-20) and three-point field goal attempts (17-of-34), plus they were 12-of-19 from the free throw line. The Monks were credited with 23 assists while they committed just 12 turnovers.

The Pride shot 48.4 percent (31-of-64) from the field, including 7-of-20 from behind the three-point line, and 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the free throw line. Regis won the rebounding battle, 42-29, and it earned 22 assists while committing only 11 turnovers. Included in the assist total was Germain's 229^th career assist, tying him with James Cooper for the most career assists in Regis men's basketball history.

Regis (7-16, 3-6 GNAC) hosts Colby-Sawyer College Tuesday, Feb. 18, starting at 7 p.m. The Pride will then close the regular season at Suffolk University next Saturday, Feb. 22, beginning at 1 p.m.