SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Regis University men's basketball team (18-9, 15-6 RMAC) outscored Westminster College (10-14, 8-12 RMAC) 8-0 in the final 3:25 to edge them 84-82, keeping pace with Dixie State University in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) standings.
 
How It Happened: The Rangers collected three offensive rebounds that led to five second-chance points in the first 1:30 of play. RU held Westminster scoreless on four of the first five possessions to extend their lead to 10-3.
 
The Griffins scored six unanswered and threatened to take their first lead of the game, but sophomore Tomas Auruskevicius put an end to the run with an unassisted layup. The Regis advantage swayed between two points and five points over six minutes until the Griffins got a stop on the defensive end.
 
Westminster made back-to-back three-pointers to take their first lead, 23-24, with 9:07 left in the first half. The Griffins' lead held for just 47 seconds before junior Taffy Tela assisted senior Ryan Beisty behind the arc.
 
Freshman Toni Rocak made his way to the hoop for a hard-earned layup that would stretch the Rangers lead to six, 36-30, with 4:34 on the clock. RU was not able to extend their lead any further throughout the half after Rocak missed his and-one free-throw
 
The Griffins were able to battle back within one, 40-39, but Auruskevicius made a three-pointer before Westminster could prevail. Regis outscored the Griffins 5-2 in the final minute of play to take a 45-41 halftime advantage.
 
The Rangers surrendered their lead after being outscored 10-5 in the first five minutes of the second half. The Griffins then went on a 7-0 run to take a 50-56 lead. RU trailed 52-58 when junior Roberto Vercellino went straight-up, scoring the layup and drawing the shooting foul after catching an inbound pass underneath the hoop. His free-throw cut the Regis deficit to three, 55-58.  
 
The Rangers tied the game twice before finally regaining the advantage on a three-point play by senior Jarrett Brodbeck. Little made a layup to give RU a three-point lead, 69-66, at the 7:53 media timeout.
 
Westminster forced two turnovers and did not allow Regis to score a basket before the next media timeout. There was just 1:45 seconds between the media timeouts, but the Griffins went on a 9-2 run to claim a 71-75 lead. Brodbeck scored five-straight points for the Rangers to bring them within one, 76-77, with 3:56 left in the game.
 
Scoreless on their next two offensive possessions, RU conceded five-straight points to fall behind by six, 82-76. However, Auruskevicius, Beisty and Little score baskets respectively to tie the game at 82 with 1:01 to play. Regis' defense withstood the test, forcing a turnover and five-straight empty possessions for the Griffins.
 
Little and Brodbeck each went 1-for-2 from the foul line to give the Rangers an 84-82 advaNtage with five seconds left on the clock. Westminster threw-up a last second shot but it was denied by the iron.
 
Game Notes: RU shot 50.8 percent from the field with six players scoring in double-digits. Beisty (6-9, 3-4 3-PT) led the team with 17 while Little (6-11, 1-2 3-PT) added 15.
 
In a game that was statistically equal in almost every category; each team shot above 50 percent, made nine three-pointers and made 15 free-throws, but the difference in the game was bench scoring. Regis scored 18 bench points compared to nine for the Griffins.
 
Brodbeck and Little each grabbed six rebounds, but the Rangers were outrebounded 28-38 as a team.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University men's basketball team will play their final regular season game inside Regis Field House on Friday, March 1 at 7 p.m. The game, against Colorado Christian University, will serve as the Rangers' senior night.