MSU Denver MSUD 6-10,3-7 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis 7-9,4-6 RMAC

MSU Denver MSUD

6-10,3-7 RMAC

Final

Jan. 14, 2023

Regis (CO) Regis

7-9,4-6 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
MSU Denver MSUD	38	32	70
Regis (CO) Regis	31	54	85

Summary
Box Score

Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics

Regis graduate student David Simental scored a season-high 41 points Saturday in an 85-70 win over MSU Denver (File Photo).

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Jan 14 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Simental erupts for 41 points, Rangers dominate second half in 85-70 win over Roadrunners

DENVER, Colo. — The Regis University men's basketball team, led by a sensational performance from graduate student-guard David Simental, earned a crucial home win over crosstown rival Metropolitan State University of Denver on Saturday night, outscoring the Roadrunners, 54-32, in the second half to pull out an 85-70 victory.

For the Rangers (7-9 overall, 4-6 RMAC), the win over the rival Roadrunners (6-10 overall, 3-7) was an emphatic bounce-back performance after a disappointing loss to No. 6/10 Colorado School of Mines less than 24 hours prior.

"(Friday) night was an emotional loss. We felt a little beat down. But I was really proud of the guys for how they came in and responded with their energy and enthusiasm," said Regis head men's basketball coach, Brady Bergeson. "I think it says something about our character and that's something we're going to have to have playing toward the end of the year here. We're going to have to respond to adversity in similar ways."

HOW IT HAPPENED: Simental would be one of the main catalysts Saturday as he poured in a season-high 41 points on 13-for-17 shooting; tied for the third most single-game points in program history with Geremy Gibson (Feb. 23, 2008 at Chadron State) and Jarrett Brodbeck (Dec. 11, 2015 versus South Dakota Mines).

The 41 points were a new high in Regis blue and gold for Simental and just 10 points shy of the program record (51) set by Cozel Walker on February 28, 1964. The Pueblo native, and one-time Colorado State University Pueblo star, has also posted games of 42 points (Dec. 7, 2019) at Fort Lewis and a career-high 48 points (Feb. 13, 2021) against Westminster during his time in the RMAC.

Simental scored 25 of his 41 points during the Rangers' dominant second-half effort, including a stretch of 10 straight points that gave Regis a 57-50 lead at the 10:23 mark.

"I do think David was finding his way within our offensive concepts, which are a little different than previous systems he has been in, but give him and his teammates a lot of credit," Bergeson said of Simental, who added three assists and was 6-of-10 behind the 3-point line Saturday. "They recognized the hot hand while he had it. They worked to get him open, they looked for him, and I'm obviously really proud of David for the performance he had tonight. It was fun to watch and be a part of."

Once they took the lead with 15:12 remaining, the Rangers would never look back as they ballooned their lead to 15 points at 68-53 with 6:52 remaining on a 3-pointer by graduate student forward Jas Singh and maintained that double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

"That's the probably the best half we've had this season. Putting together a good half is a compilation of doing a lot of little things right and doing those things a lot," Bergeson said. "I think that's something we've struggled with, being inconsistent with our detail, and I thought we put together longer stretches of being detail oriented on the court in that second half."

Senior forward Aaron Bokol continued his solid play, tallying 13 points and leading the Rangers with nine rebounds and five assists in his 36 minutes.

Redshirt junior Eddy Egun was the third Ranger in double-figures with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting while adding six rebounds from the guard position.

GAME NOTES:

The 85 points were a season high for the Rangers, topping the previous high of 82 against South Dakota Mines on Dec. 3, 2022
Regis shot a blistering 53.8% (28-for-52) from the field on Saturday
MSU Denver was limited to 32 points on 36% shooting (10-for-28) in the second half
Singh and sophomore forward Brayden Carter each added seven points off the bench
The Rangers finished with a 34-24 advantage in rebounds, including a 24-15 edge on the defensive glass

UP NEXT: Regis concludes its three-game home stand next Friday when it welcomes in another nearby foe in Colorado Christian University (7-9 overall, 3-7 RMAC). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Regis Field House.

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