Regis (CO) Regis 6-7,3-4 RMAC

Adams St. ASC 3-11,1-7 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

6-7,3-4 RMAC

Final

Jan. 06, 2023

Adams St. ASC

3-11,1-7 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Regis (CO) Regis	39	40	79
Adams St. ASC	38	39	77

Summary
Box Score

Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Jan 06 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Bokol's game winner punctuates Rangers' road win over Adams State

ALAMOSA, Colo. — Searching for its first win of 2023, the Regis University men's basketball team had its senior captain deliver in the clutch Friday as forward Aaron Bokol netted his second game-winner of the season to lift the Rangers to a 79-77 road victory over Adams State University.

Bokol's driving, contested layup with four seconds remaining would prove to be the difference Friday, giving the Rangers (6-7 overall, 3-4 RMAC) their first win of the new year and a much-needed road victory over the Grizzlies (3-11 overall, 1-7 RMAC) to begin a southwest Colorado road swing.

"Aaron has a lot of guts and there's just no replacement for having a guy who has been battle-tested like he has," said Regis head men's basketball coach, Brady Bergeson. "We ran a play there where we wanted to get him and David (Simental) in a two-man game with options and Bokol made a great read. He was able to keep his balance and finish. It was a beautiful individual read and finish on his part."

HOW IT HAPPENED: Mirroring their two-point tightrope win (95-93) against Adams State down in Alamosa last season, the Rangers and Grizzlies were locked in another grueling battle Friday. The game featured six lead changes and eight ties while neither team held a lead larger than 10 points.

Regis carried a slim 39-38 lead into the halftime locker rooms, but found itself down 65-55 with just 8:45 remaining in the second half before putting the clamps on, defensively.

The Rangers countered with a 10-1 blitz over the next three minutes, trimming the Grizzlies' lead to one at 66-65 following a pair of free-throws by graduate student guard David Simental at the 5:45 mark.

"The difference down the stretch when we made our run was we did a much better job defending without fouling and blocking out. When we did that, we were able to string some stops together," Bergeson said. "On the other end of the court, we were pretty relentless attacking the paint and forcing them to guard us going downhill."

Simental briefly gave the Rangers a 77-75 lead after splashing a mid-range jumper with 40 seconds remaining, but Adams State answered with a basket with 27 seconds left to set up the dramatic final possession.

On the ensuing side in-bounds play, Bokol took a pass from Simental at the elbow, faked the handoff, and split two Adams State defenders to kiss a layup off the glass with four seconds remaining for two of his team-high 18 points.

The Grizzlies would be unable to get a potential game-tying or game-winning shot off before the buzzer sounded, putting the bow on the 79-77 final.

Bokol, who grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, was one of four Rangers to finish in double-figures on Friday. He was joined by Simental with 16 points, redshirt junior guard Eddy Egun with 12 points and sophomore forward Brayden Carter, who played one of his most efficient games of 2022-23 with 15 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting.

"He was huge for us and really tough (Friday). He played his role and played very hard," Bergeson said. "He gave us huge minutes and provided us with a much-needed toughness inside."

GAME NOTES:

The Rangers were rewarded for their aggressiveness on offense, finishing with 37-24 advantage in free-throw attempts
Regis shot an efficient 28-for-37 (75.7%) at the charity stripe
The Rangers finished with a 19-7 advantage in second-chance points
Regis won the turnover battle, 15-9
Adams State led for 72.8% of the game (29:07)

UP NEXT: Regis will look to build off Friday's momentum when it concludes the southwest road trip on Saturday with a matchup against No. 15/17 Fort Lewis College (12-1 overall, 6-1 RMAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside Whalen Gymnasium in Durango.

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