Regis Men’s Hoop Pulls Away with 85-66 Victory

PAXTON, Mass. – Regis College enjoyed another solid offensive performance, shooting 54.1 percent from the field on its way to an 85-66 victory over Anna Maria College Monday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at the Fuller Activities Center.

All five starters for the Pride reached double figures in scoring, led by Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) with 24 points on 11-for-17 shooting from the field, plus he led all players with 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) hit all four field goal attempts, including two three-pointers, and four free throw chances for 14 points, while Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) collected 12 points, and Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) added 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals to the winning effort.

Rau scored the first four points of the game, and then Evelyn hit a three-pointer as the Pride retook the lead at 7-4. Regis scored seven straight points to extend its advantage to eight at 14-6, followed by an 8-2 scoring run for the Pride to give them a 13-point lead at 22-9 with 11:48 left in the first half.

Anna Maria (11-9, 7-6 GNAC) battled back, starting with a three-pointer from Trevian Grenon to open a 9-2 scoring run that cut its deficit to six points at 24-18. After three-pointers from Tate Pike (Bellingham, Mass.) and Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.), the AMCATS closed to within one point thanks to a 10-2 scoring stretch, capped by a layup from Hayden Braga. Wilkerson would score the final four points of the first half to give the Pride a 41-35 halftime lead.

The Pride put together a 17-5 scoring run early in the second half, starting with five straight points from Wilkins, to open a 60-42 lead with 12 minutes remaining in regulation. Anna Maria outscored Regis 7-1 over the next two-and-a-half minutes, but three-pointers by Evelyn and Wilkerson stopped the home team's rally as the Pride maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the night.

For Anna Maria, Grenon and Braga tied for the team lead with 11 points apiece, with Braga also pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. As a team, the AMCATS shot 34.7 percent (25-for-72) from the field and 54.5 percent (12-for-22) from the free throw line.

The Pride hit 33-of-61 field goal attempts, including 8-for-19 from behind the three-point line, plus they outrebounded Anna Maria, 49-35. Although the AMCATS committed only 11 turnovers, Regis made the most of those mistakes, scoring 17 points off Anna Maria turnovers.

Regis College (9-10, 6-7 GNAC) hosts Dean College Tuesday, Feb. 8, starting at 6 p.m. in a game originally scheduled to take place Dec. 1. It is a rematch of Saturday's contest at Dean in which the Bulldogs rallied for a 64-61 victory over the Pride.