DENVER, Colo. – After spending the last couple of weekends on the road, the Regis University men's basketball team finally returned home for some conference action. Regis (12-8, 7-7 RMAC) fended off a furious comeback from the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks (12-8, 8-6 RMAC) to come away with a 91-89 win on Friday evening.
 
How It Happened: Everything was clicking for Regis through the first 29 minutes of the game as they built up a 27-point lead over a very talented Mavericks team. Much of the damage was done in the opening half of play with RU shooting a remarkable 63.6 percent from the field, with 5-of-11 makes from downtown. At the break, the score was 51-36 in favor of the home side.
 
After nine minutes of play in the second half, Regis saw their shots continue to drop and they watched their lead balloon up to 27 points, 78-51, before a wave of momentum engulfed the Regis Field House in the way of CMU. The Mavericks starting scoring and getting stops on defense that eventually saw them go on a 36-9 run during a nine-minute stretch on the back side of the second half.
 
The Rangers found themselves tied, 87-87, with 1:55 remaining in the game. However, the momentum had shifted completely in favor of CMU who had a crowd that traveled well and were very vocal. Sophomore Toni Rocak knocked down a jumper to give RU a two-point lead, silencing the Mavericks fans for the time being, while also getting the home fans back to their feet. Senior Christian Little then responded with a tough shot of his own, getting his shot to fall, extending the lead to four points, 91-87. After two free throws from the visitors brought the lead to only two, an offensive foul by Regis gave the ball to CMU with a chance to tie or take the lead with five seconds on the clock.
 
A tough defensive stand from redshirt-freshman Kevin Ebiriekwe knocked the ball loose, but the Mavericks regained possession and called a timeout with 2.2 seconds left. Again, strong defense from the Rangers forced CMU into a difficult shot at the end, and the horn sounded with RU ahead by two, 91-89.  
 
Game Notes: It was easily the craziest atmosphere in the Regis Field House all season with the teams going back-and-forth. In the end, standout performances from Little (29 PTS, 13-18 FG, 3-5 3-PT, 5 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL) and Rocak (23 PTS, 10-17 FG, 3-6 FT, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL) helped seal the game for the home team down the stretch. Juniors Donald Gipson (14 PTS, 5-12 FG, 3-9 3-PT) and Brian Dawson (12 PTS, 4-9 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 2-2 FT, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL) were the other two players in double-figures for Regis. The Rangers finished the game with a 59.4 shooting percentage with nine makes from beyond the arc in 24 attempts. RU led the game for 35:49 (89.5%) of the game and there were six lead changes, all coming in the first five minutes of the first half.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The men's basketball team will return to the court tomorrow night to face the Western Colorado University Mountaineers at 5 p.m. in the Regis Field House.