Simon Fraser SF 2-6,0-0 Great Northwest

Regis (CO) Regis 2-2,0-0 RMAC

Simon Fraser SF

2-6,0-0 Great Northwest

Final

Nov. 24, 2023

Regis (CO) Regis

2-2,0-0 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Simon Fraser SF	42	17	59
Regis (CO) Regis	27	37	64

Summary
Box Score

Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Nov 24 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Regis forces 18 second-half turnovers, storms back to earn 64-59 win over Simon Fraser

DENVER, Colo. — The Regis University men's basketball team opened up its Thanksgiving Classic on Friday, erasing a 15-point halftime deficit to storm back and upend Simon Fraser University, 64-59, inside the Regis Fieldhouse.

Effort, energy and a slew of second-half turnovers by the Red Leafs (2-6 overall) would spark the turnaround for the Rangers (2-2 overall) as they turned 18 second-half turnovers by SFU into 16 fast break points over the final 20 minutes.

"I didn't think we competed very hard or to our standard in the first half. But the guys stepped up to the challenge in the second half and that really was the difference in the game," said Regis head men's basketball coach, Brady Bergeson. "We didn't do anything special, change up coverages or anything like that. We just played a whole lot harder and good things came our way."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Simon Fraser, a NCAA Division II school from north of the border in British Columbia, Canada, controlled action in the first half, shooting 62 percent (13-for-21) from the field through the opening 20 minutes en route to building a 42-27 lead at the break.

Regis would trail by as many as 17 at 51-34 with 14:14 remaining in the second half before the Rangers' full-court, hounding ball pressure started to wear down the Red Leafs.

The Rangers trimmed the deficit to single digits again at 54-45 with 9:45 remaining, following a steal and score by redshirt junior guard Eddy Egun.

Following another SFU turnover, Regis inched to within one at 56-55 on a 3-pointer from freshman guard Ty Cox — three of his 11 points on the evening — and then took its first lead of the second half at 58-56 courtesy of another deep try, this time off the finger tips of sophomore Vojin Mastilovic with 58 ticks remaining.

The Regis defense held Simon Fraser to a bleak 26 percent shooting (6-for-23) mark from the field in the second half, which included a 12-minute stretch without a field goal between the 12:20 mark and a desperation, banked 3-pointer that dropped with eight seconds remaining.

"We were a lot more disciplined in the second half We did too much gambling, defensively, when we shouldn't have and Simon Fraser did a good job finding the open man and taking advantage of that in the first half," Bergeson said. "When we stayed a little more disciplined and made sure we had everyone covered up, then really the only difference was effort based."

Junior guard CJ Reed helped lead the defensive effort, drawing two charges and picking up a team-high four steals of the 16 racked up by the Rangers, followed by Trey Bryant and Egun with three steals apiece.

Regis took advantage of the added possessions as the team tallied all 16 of its fast-break points in the second half to aid an offense that shot 35 percent (12-for-34) in the second half and 36 percent (22-for-61) for the game.

Sophomore guard Chase Mayo Harmon paced all Rangers with a game-high 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting, while Cox and Egun rounded out the three Regis players in double-figures with 11 points.

Running the point, Bryant dished out an early season high of seven assists versus just one turnover in his 29 minutes.

UP NEXT
Regis will conclude the weekend with a Saturday matinee against Seattle Pacific University (4-5 overall). Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside the Regis Fieldhouse.

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