Regis (CO) Regis 20-9,13-8 RMAC

Colorado Mesa CMU 24-9,17-5 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

20-9,13-8 RMAC

Final

Mar. 04, 2022

Colorado Mesa CMU

24-9,17-5 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	OT 1	F
Regis (CO) Regis	33	29	17	79
Colorado Mesa CMU	29	33	14	76

Summary
Box Score

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

Regis junior Will Cranston-Lown scored 19 points in Friday's semi-final win against No. 2 Colorado Mesa.

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Mar 04 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

No. 6 Rangers knock off No. 2 Colorado Mesa, advance to RMAC Tournament Championship game

SPEARFISH, S.D. — The Regis University men's basketball team penned the latest chapter to its Cinderella run on Friday, heading into the RMAC Tournament semi-final as the No. 6 seed and knocking off No. 2 Colorado Mesa University, 79-76, in overtime inside the Donald E. Young Center.

It was the second time in as many games the Rangers (20-9 overall) have upended a higher-seeded team after dismissing No. 3 seed Fort Lewis College in the RMAC quarterfinals on Tuesday. And it was the team's first win over the Mavericks (24-9 overall) since a 91-89 home victory back on Jan. 31, 2020; snapping a five-game skid to the perennial RMAC powers.

With the victory, Regis will move on to Saturday's RMAC Tournament Championship game, slated for 6 p.m. against No. 1 seed Black Hills State, who defeated the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, 86-77. It will mark the first return trip to the RMAC title game for the Rangers since they won the tournament in 2017-2018 (88-80 at Fort Lewis).

"The biggest takeaway for me is the fact this program and this run we're on is built by our culture," said Regis men's basketball coach, Brady Bergeson. "We're not out here 'out-talenting' somebody. We have good talent with good players who are not overmatched by anyone, but the X-Factor for us all season long and in this tournament, for sure, is how tight our group is and how committed they are to each other. It has allowed us have an opportunity to play for a championship (Saturday) night and I just can't say enough about our kids."

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Rangers came out of the gates ready to roll, jumping out to an 18-8 lead midway through the first half and leading by as many as 12 at 22-10 with 7:53 remaining en route to a 33-29 lead at the break.

Regis was again sparked by its defense, which limited the Mavericks to 11-of-25 shooting (44%) in the first half to slow down a balance CMU offense that averaged 88.5 points against the Rangers in the first two games of the regular season.

"We needed to make a couple adjustments, defensively, based on the previous two games we lost to them. Our guys made a couple of real simple, but clear adjustments, that required some attention, particularly in rotations," Bergeson said. "I thought our rotations were the best they've been all year. Mesa has a lot of versatile guys and scoring options and I thought our guys locked in to make things hard. (Mavericks) still shot 50% for the game, which is unbelievable, they have such good firepower. But we slowed them down enough and that's what we've tried to do this year. Slow teams down and disrupt them enough that we can find a way to win."

Offensively, graduate student Brian Dawson poured in 16 of his game-high 29 points in the first half. The First Team All-RMAC selection finished the evening an economical 11-of-19 from the floor, rising to the occasion under the bright lights of the RMAC semi-finals.

"He's a kid with unbelievable confidence who knows the work has been put in. Not every night is going to be a great night, teams are always keyed on him, but I thought it was really good to see him aggressive early on with some shots close to the basket," Bergeson said. "He saw them go in and then continued to make great decisions and take good shots. He was ready for those opportunities and we certainly needed every one of them."

Colorado Mesa would not go away quietly, though, as the Mavericks erased an 11-point second half deficit to pull even again at 51-51 with 7:22 remaining in regulation.

CMU would hold a two-point lead at 62-60 with 2:00 remaining, but Regis graduate student Troy Brady buried a contested layup at the 1:45 mark, evening the score again and sending the two teams to overtime deadlocked at 62-62.

In the overtime period, junior guard Will Cranston-Lown drilled arguably the biggest shot of the evening as he buried a step-back 3-pointer with 1:38 remaining that gave Regis the lead for good at 71-69.

Cranston-Lown finished the night with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting while adding six rebounds from the off-guard position.

"Huge, huge shot from Will. It was one of those hinge baskets or hinge plays that either happen on the offensive or defensive end. But you know it when you see it," Bergeson said. "That one was a hinge play. We needed something out of that possession. It came down to the end of the shot clock and he delivered. We've seen him do that a number of times and he really stepped up and showed his maturity. He's a poised veteran now."

GAME NOTES: The third Ranger in double-figures on Friday was junior stretch forward Aaron Bokol, who shook off early foul trouble — limited to just two minutes of floor time in the first half — to pour in 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

Regis matched the Mavericks with 50% shooting (27-for-54) from the floor, but held a sizable advantage at the free throw line as the team finished 20-for-26 (76%) compared to 9-of-13 (69%) for CMU.

Redshirt junior Kevin Ebiriekwe added eight points, five rebounds and a blocked shot Friday. He is averaging 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals so far in the RMAC Tournament.

UP NEXT: Regis will look to claim the program's second RMAC Tournament Championship in program history when it squares off against No. 1 seed and tourney hosts, Black Hills State University (21-7 overall). Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside the Donald E. Young Center.

The Rangers fell by an 85-75 final against the Yellow Jackets in the first meeting between the two teams back in Denver on Feb. 7 and will be looking for their first victory against BHSU since Jan. 12, 2019.

Bergeson said he is confident his team will draw upon its experience in 2021-22, a season that saw the team post a program-best 14 game win streak and navigate a difficult end of January, as they prepare for Saturday's showdown.

"I think our guys have been remarkably good all season long of not getting too high or too low. We were on a big win streak early and enjoyed each one of them, and it's an easy thing to do to get complacent, but not once did we feel that happen. Same thing when we were struggling in the latter part of January and early February," Bergeson said. "We didn't fragment apart and never got too high or too low. We'll take that into (Saturday). The game plan will be simple. We'll just play instinctually, play aggressive and play our brand of basketball."

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