Pride Hold On to Defeat Mariners in Key GNAC Contest

WESTON, Mass. - In a close contest that featured six ties and nine lead changes, Regis College was able to hold off a comeback by Mitchell College as the Pride defeated the Mariners, 74-68, Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) notched his sixth consecutive double-double and eighth within the last nine games, leading the Pride with 23 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, tied for the second-highest single game total in program history. Jamir Harvey (Robbins, Ill.) finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) also scored 13 points during the contest.

Mitchell opened the second half with an 8-1 scoring run to close its deficit to six points at 42-36, but Regis would reestablish a double-digit lead on layups by Rau and Evelyn. The Mariners put together a 14-4 scoring run over the next three-and-a-half minutes, capped by a jumper from Robert Zirlis, to tie the game at 52-52 with 12:14 left in the second half.

The Mariners could not take advantage of a Pride turnover, and Regis would reestablish its lead on a three-pointer by Evelyn and a putback by Rau. However, a traditional three-point play from Dontae Pollard and a three-pointer by Jaylyn Clardy allowed Mitchell to pull ahead, 60-59, with eight minutes remaining in regulation.

After Clardy hit two free throws to extend the Mariner lead to 64-61, Evelyn would make a layup and then earn the assist on a layup by Tate Pike (Bellingham, Mass.) to put the Pride back on top, 65-64. In the final minute of regulation, Clardy hit a three-pointer to bring the Mariners within one point, but Rau answered with his own three-pointer and then made two free throws to put the game away.

The lead went back-and-forth for the first seven minutes of the game, with Mitchell pulling ahead 14-13 on two free throws by Kenny Lewis. Starting with a three-pointer from Gehrig Brynda (Deerfield, Mass.), the Pride put together a 13-2 scoring run to pull ahead midway through the first half, 26-16.

Clardy earned a traditional three-point play to close the Mitchell deficit to 26-20, but Regis responded with an 11-2 scoring run, punctuated by Brynda's second three-pointer of the game, to take its largest lead of the game at 37-22. Clardy would hit a jumper with 30 seconds remaining in the first half to cut the Pride lead to 41-28 at halftime.

Clardy shot 9-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-6 from long distance, and 6-for-7 from the free throw line as he led all players with 28 points. Three other Mitchell players scored nine points apiece, but the Mariners shot just 38.7 percent (24-for-62) from the field and 78.9 percent (15-for-19) from the free throw line.

As a team, the Pride shot 43.6 percent (24-for-55) from the field and 87.5 percent (21-for-24) from the free throw line. Regis finished with a slight rebounding advantage, 37-33, and scored 13 points off 14 Mitchell turnovers.

Regis College (7-8, 2-2 GNAC) hosts Norwich University Tuesday, Jan. 16, starting at 7 p.m. at Higgins Court. Mitchell College (3-11, 1-3 GNAC) hosts Elms College at the same time Tuesday.