Westminster (UT) WC-UT 1-8,1-2 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis 4-5,1-2 RMAC

Westminster (UT) WC-UT

1-8,1-2 RMAC

Final

Dec. 09, 2022

Regis (CO) Regis

4-5,1-2 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Westminster (UT) WC-UT	35	26	61
Regis (CO) Regis	29	34	63

Summary
Box Score

Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Dec 09 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Bokol nails game-winner, lifts Regis to first RMAC win against Westminster

DENVER, Colo. — With an early spark from some youngsters, and a savvy senior in the clutch, the Regis University men's basketball team earned a much-needed, 63-61, victory on Friday in the team's RMAC home opener against Westminster College.

Senior forward Aaron Bokol would play hero as his turnaround baby hook with 1.6 seconds remaining put the Rangers (4-5 overall, 1-2 RMAC), who were looking to bounce-back after a buzzer-beating loss to South Dakota Mines last Saturday, on top for good against a pesky Griffins squad (1-8 overall, 1-2 RMAC).

"Getting a result like that helps the psyche a little bit with how hard these guys are pushing," said Regis head men's basketball coach, Brady Bergeson. "You don't always get to learn your lessons in a win, and a messy win at that. Tonight, we'll take the win in the form that it came."

HOW IT HAPPENED: Trailing 35-29 at the half, and 41-29 with 16:46 remaining in the second half, the Rangers put their foot down and began to chip away to put themselves in a position for the win late.

Regis pulled even for the first time in the second half at the 6:50 mark following five straight points from graduate student guard David Simental, capped off by a traditional 3-point play that tied the score at 52-52.

A free-throw from sophomore forward Brayden Carter gave the Rangers' their first lead of the half at 57-56 with 3:42 remaining, setting the stage for a wild sprint to the finish line that featured four lead changes and three ties in the final minutes.

With the score tied 61-61, the Rangers forced a turnover with 36 seconds remaining, and fought for an offensive rebound the ensuing trip down the floor, to set up their final in-bounds play.

Bokol caught the in-bound pass at the right elbow, faked a handoff to Simental, spun on his defender and floated a five-foot baby hook that bounced around the iron before dropping in the net with 1.6 seconds remaining.

The game-winning shot punctuated another strong performance from the Aurora native as he finished with a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds; his fourth double-double of the young season.

"Just some nice touch. He put it up on the rim, gave it a shot and we got the fortunate roll there," Bergeson said of Bokol's shot. "It was a simple play. It was a little two-man game with Bokol and Simental and he was able to pivot by his guy. He made a little bit of an unorthodox shot, but he has a good knack for doing things like that."

GAME NOTES:

Regis dominated the bench points category (25-2)
True freshman Vojin Mastilovic, who has drawn a start in three straight games, scored a career-high 11 points Friday
The third Regis player in double-figures was Carter with 13 points off the bench
True freshman Aaron Ofstun made his collegiate debut Friday, scoring four points in his eight minutes

UP NEXT: The Rangers will look to build off the momentum when they continue their three-game home stand on Saturday against Colorado Mesa University (6-3 overall, 1-2 RMAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside the Regis Field House.

"They're a very experience team with a lot of games who have logged a lot of minutes in big games," Bergeson said of the Mavericks. "They'll be a great challenge and we'll have to be ready to take some more steps forward in our improvement."

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