DENVER - The No. 23 Regis University men's basketball team (17-5,12-4 RMAC) won a nail biter versus the Western Colorado Mountaineers (5-18,4-13 RMAC), Friday night at the Regis Field House. Junior guard
Aaron Bokol led the squad with 17 points as Regis avoided a second half comeback from WCU.
How it Happened: A 9-0 run was about as good of a start as you could ask for from the Rangers. The team extended their lead to 20 points with 14 minutes to go in the final frame when freshman guard
Aidan Sevilla got a layup in the paint.
However, the lead was a little too comfortable for RU as the Mountaineers stormed back in the final eight minutes of the game.
WCU's comeback was aided by shooting north of 50 percent from both the field and from deep. Regis' large lead soon evaporated to just two points with under a minute to play. But the Rangers' scrappy defense didn't allow WCU to come any closer. After Graduate student guard
Ilisia Washington nabbed the rebound on the Mountaineer's final shot, Regis won the game 69-67.
Game Notes: Regis was 46 percent (28-61) from the field and just 17 percent (3-17) from behind the arc.
However, Regis had 10 steals compared to WCU's three.
Regis' top-4 scores all came off the bench.
Bokol's (6-7 FG, 1-2 3-PT) 17 points and four steals were team-highs.
Freshman forward
Brayden Carter (5-6 FG, 0-1 3-PT) got 13 points banging around in the paint plus four rebounds.
Junior forward
Alex Cartwright (2-5 FG, 0-1 3-PT) had a team-high seven rebounds.
Washington (5-8 FG, 2-3 3-PT) had 12 points and four boards as well.
Up Next for the Rangers: The team will return to the hardwood tomorrow when they host Fort Lewis (13-7,9-5 RMAC) at 7 p.m.
