Regis (CO) Regis 0-1,0-0 RMAC

St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX 1-0,0-0 Lone Star

Regis (CO) Regis

0-1,0-0 RMAC

Final

Nov. 10, 2023

St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX

1-0,0-0 Lone Star

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Regis (CO) Regis	33	45	78
St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX	37	44	81

Summary
Box Score

Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics

Regis sophomore Vojin Mastilovic scored 11 points in Friday's loss to St. Mary's (File Photo).

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Nov 10 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Rangers build late lead, but fall just short in 81-78 road loss to St. Mary's

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Regis University men's basketball team tipped off the 2023-24 season on Friday, opening a Division II Conference Challenge weekend with a tight 81-78 loss to St. Mary's University.

It was an unfortunate end to an afternoon that saw a lot of positive for a young Rangers squad (0-1 overall), as the team had 10 different scorers, got to the foul line 33 times, and held a 10-point lead as late as 76-66 with 3:49 remaining.

"We gave ourselves a chance to win with the effort put forth. But just fell a little short in those last couple of minutes. We had a 10-point lead and we haven't learned how to play with that yet," said Regis head men's basketball coach, Brady Bergeson. "St. Mary's pressure got to us and we gave too many possessions back to them in the form of turnovers and that was ultimately the game."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rangers and Rattlers (1-0 overall) traded jabs through the opening 20 minutes as the two teams combined for 10 lead changes in the first half.

St. Mary's built it's first-half lead up to as many as seven points, but Regis sophomore Vojin Mastilovic buried a 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer to send the Rangers into the locker rooms down just 37-33.

The Rattlers maintained a five-point lead as the clock neared the six-minute mark before the Rangers put together their best stretch of the night.

Regis rattle off 17-2 run over the next 2:31 of game time, capped off by back-to-back baskets from Mastilovic as part of his 11 points, to take a 76-66 advantage just after the four-minute media timeout.

"We really focused on controlling St. Mary's penetration. They have a lot of good, downhill drivers and we gave up too many good looks in the first half. By controlling the dribble penetration better, we were able to stay home on block outs and then we settled down, offensively, and kept things very simple," Bergeson said. "We made some really nice adjustments at half time that helped us build that lead. Unfortunately, we just couldn't close it."

St. Mary's stormed back with a 15-0 run of its own, aided by three Regis turnovers down the stretch. The Rattlers pulled even at 76-76 with 2:07 remaining and took the lead for good at the 1:03 mark en route to the 81-78 final.

Mastilovic was one of three Rangers to finish in double-figures, and one of 10 different Regis players to score Friday, with his 11 points. Fellow sophomore Chase Mayo Harmon tallied a team-high 15 points while true freshman Olafur Styrmisson added 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting in his collegiate debut.

GAME NOTES

Regis shot an even 40 percent (22-for-55) for the game while St. Mary's came in at 42.6 percent (26-for-61) from the field.
St. Mary's won the turnover battle, 23-15, and turned those 23 turnovers into 22 points.
Regis got to the foul line 33 times on Friday, shooting 78.8 percent (26-for-33).
Redshirt junior guard Eddy Egun led the Rangers with seven rebounds and three assists.

UP NEXT
The Rangers will look to regroup and get ready for a contrasting style on Saturday when the team closes out DII Conference Challenge play with a 2 p.m. (Mountain) clash against Lubbock Christian University.

"Lubbock Christian is a team that will play a little more in the half-court and will be a big contrast from what we saw (Friday) from St. Mary's. They'll present a couple new challenges for us," Bergeson said. "They're going to be a difficult team to beat. But, we'll have a game plan and we'll learn our lessons from tonight, and give it everything we have."

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