Regis Holds On to Win Home Finale

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College opened a 23-point lead two minutes into the second half, but Colby-Sawyer College was able to rally and pull ahead late in regulation before the Pride responded to take the lead for good, defeating the Chargers, 68-66, Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) hit six three-pointers as he led the Pride with 20 points, while Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.) contributed three long distance baskets to finish with 15 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) notched his 10^th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) added eight points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals.

Omar Boone opened the game with a three-pointer for Colby-Sawyer, but Regis responded with 13 unanswered points, including a three-pointer by Rosa from Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), giving Germain the Regis career assists record with the 230^th helper of his Pride tenure. The Chargers closed to within six midway through the first half on a layup by Terrence Harvey Jr., but the Pride extended their lead back into double digits thanks in part to a 16-3 scoring run, capped by consecutive three-pointers from Rosa.

Regis outscored Colby-Sawyer 10-4 through the first three minutes of the second half to establish its largest lead of the night at 49-26. The Chargers started their comeback by putting together a 17-2 scoring run to cut their deficit to eight at 51-43 halfway through the half, but the Pride answered back with a three-pointer from Zak Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) and two free throws from Thompson.

Consecutive three-pointers from Jake Carrier and Boone brought the Chargers within five, and then another three-pointer from Carrier followed by a traditional three-point play from Dana Bean further closed the margin to just one point at 60-59 with 4:38 left in the second half. After a layup by Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) and an exchange of empty possessions, Bean raced down the court for a fast-break dunk, and Patrick Coffey followed a Pride missed shot with a jumper to put the Chargers ahead, 63-62, with 2:28 remaining in regulation.

The Chargers had a chance to extend their lead thanks to a Coffey steal, but they missed three shot attempts. Dalger finally grabbed a defensive rebound and found Thompson for the go-ahead layup in the final minute, and then Rosa made two free throws after a Charger missed shot and foul to extend the Pride lead to three with 26 seconds left on the clock.

After a timeout, Colby-Sawyer had two chances to tie the game, but neither long distance attempt was successful. The Chargers collected a rebound off a missed Pride free throw on the front end of a one-and-one, but Dalger was able to get a steal, draw a foul, and make two free throws with four seconds left. Coffey hit one final three-pointer with 0.9 seconds showing, but Regis was able to inbound the ball and avoid being fouled before the clock ran out.

Dean shot 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line to lead the Chargers with 18 points, while Coffey finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Carrier hit three three-pointers to contribute 13 points off the bench, and Boone added eight points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

As a team, Colby-Sawyer shot 38.2 percent (26-of-68) from the field, including 7-of-20 from behind the three-point line, and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. The Chargers dominated the rebounding battle, 49-32, including 21 offensive boards that led to 12 second chance points, and they scored 18 points off 15 Regis turnovers.

Half of the Pride's made field goals came from behind the three-point line, as they finished at 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field, including 11-of-28 from long distance, the third time in the last four games Regis has hit exactly 11 three-pointers. After going just 1-for-6 from the charity stripe in the first half, Regis was 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the second half, plus it scored 20 points off 18 Charger turnovers.

Colby-Sawyer (10-14, 4-6 GNAC) closes out the regular season with a trip to West Hartford, Conn., to face league-leading University of Saint Joseph Saturday, Feb. 22, starting at 3 p.m.

Regis (8-16, 4-6 GNAC) also finishes the 2019-20 regular campaign on the road, making the trip into Boston to take on Suffolk University Saturday, Feb. 22, beginning at 1 p.m.