ALAMOSA, Colo. – The Regis University men's basketball team (11-8, 6-7 RMAC) finished out their four-game road trip with a hard fought 99-94 win over the Adams State University Grizzlies (6-13, 4-9 RMAC) on Saturday night.
How It Happened: Still feeling displeasure from their last two losses, Regis took out their frustrations on the Grizzlies of Adams State early in the game on Saturday night. Trailing by one-point in the early going, 12-11, the Rangers kicked the offense into gear and started knocking down their shots.
After 16 minutes of play, senior
Christian Little and sophomore
Toni Rocak combined to shoot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, scoring a combined 17 points. The spark from these two ignited the RU attack and they jumped out to their largest lead of the first half, 40-23, with four minutes left in the half. However, the big lead was cut to only six after the Grizzlies closed out the half on a 19-8 run to bring the score to 48-42 at halftime.
Riding the momentum of cutting the lead down to six, ASU continued to roll in the second half, tying the game multiple times. Despite the strong comeback from the Grizzlies, Regis countered all of their efforts with strong runs each time the home team would tie it up. The relentlessness of ASU remained, and they were able to tie the game at 90 points apiece right after Rocak had given the Rangers a 90-88 lead with 2:48 remaining in the game.
The next possession for RU ended with a massive shot from freshman
Will Cranston-Lown who drilled a three-pointer to put Regis back in front by three, 93-90. After a defensive stop, Little followed up with a layup, extending the lead to five with less than a minute and a half to go. Two free-throws from the home side cut the lead to three once again. Down the stretch, the Rangers were able to ride out the victory 99-94 with tough defense and made free throws.
Game Notes: Regis shot the ball really well in the first half, making 59.4 percent of their shots and 6-of-13 shots from beyond the arc. However, they shot even better in the second half with a 63.3 mark from the field. A large chunk of that percentage came from the play of Rocak (1-1 3-PT, 7-10 FT, 7 REB) who missed one shot out of 12 attempts from the field. The big man posted a career-high 30 points on 11-of-12 shooting. Little (21 PTS, 8-12 FG, 4-7 3-PT) also had a terrific night from the floor, shooting 66.7 percent from the field. Cranston-Lown, like Rocak, only missed one shot all night going 6-for-7 overall including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 14 points. In total, RU finished 38-62 from the field for a 61.3 field goal percentage. They also made 12 three-pointers, shooting 48 percent from downtown. Senior Roberton Vercellino locked it down defensively with three blocks and a team-high eight rebounds.
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University men's basketball team will now return home for the next four games over the next two weekends. Regis welcomes the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks (12-6, 8-4 RMAC) to the Regis Field House this Friday, January 31 at 7 p.m. followed by a 5 p.m. joust with the Western Colorado University Mountaineers (7-11, 4-8 RMAC) on Saturday, February 1.
