Regis (CO) Regis 12-17,9-13 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 26-3,19-3 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

12-17,9-13 RMAC

Final

Feb. 28, 2023

Fort Lewis FLC

26-3,19-3 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Regis (CO) Regis	45	44	89
Fort Lewis FLC	42	54	96

Summary
Box Score

Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Feb 28 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Rangers push No. 5/6 Fort Lewis to the brink, but have upset bid fall just shy in RMAC Tournament quarterfinal

DURANGO, Colo. — Making the southwest trek down to Durango for the second straight postseason, the Regis University men's basketball team put forth a valiant effort Friday in the RMAC Tournament quarterfinals, pushing No. 2 seed Fort Lewis College to the edge, but having the upset attempt fall just shy in a 96-89 final.

The Rangers (12-17 overall, 9-13 RMAC), which upset the nationally ranked Skyhawks in the quarterfinals a season ago, were again on their game Friday. Regis led 45-42 at the break, and were within one as late as 86-85 with 3:38 remaining against a high-powered Fort Lewis team (26-3 overall, 19-3 RMAC), who entered the ballgame as the RMAC co-regular season champions and the No. 5 ranked team in the country.

"I'm so proud of this group. We've struggled so much with consistent play, but I thought (Tuesday) was one of our better performances. We had a very clear game, put it forward and executed it really well," said Regis head men's basketball coach, Brady Bergeson. "The game really came down to FLC got a couple of shots to drop late and we missed a couple shots. That's the game. But I couldn't be more proud of our guys for how they showed up and proved we're a playoff caliber team."

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Rangers' offense put together one of its best 20-minutes of basketball all season in the first half, shooting a sizzling 58 percent (15-for-26) from the field en route to building a 45-42 lead at the break.

Junior guard Eddy Egun poured in 14 of his team-high 21 points in the opening period, leading a Regis offense that had five players finish in double-figures on Tuesday.

"The big difference in the first half for us was our guys, offensively, were aggressive and committed to taking whatever they gave us," Bergeson said. "We've been a work in progress on offense all season long, but we do have a lot of guys who can make shots and make plays. This was a night where guys had a clear mindset of taking what the defense gave them and attacked. And when we play that way, we're a lot of fun to watch."

The Rangers would lead by as many as six points in the second half, holding their last lead at 77-76 with 8:07 remaining.

Leading by one at 86-85, Fort Lewis received a big basketball from the RMAC's leading scorer Akuel Kot with 2:25 remaining to bump the lead to three.

Unfortunately, the Rangers were unable to answer on the other end and FLC nailed two free throws its ensuing possession to push the lead back to two possessions at 90-85 with 2:05 on the clock.

Regis was able to cut the deficit to three on two occasions, but were unable to get a look at an equalizer as FLC made its free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 96-89 final.

"Two teams exchanging haymakers back and forth and they were able to connect on the last couple," Bergeson said of the stretch run. "Sometimes the game doesn't get more simple than that."

Joining Egun in double-figures for the Rangers on Tuesday was senior forward Aaron Bokol with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while graduate student guard David Simental had 15 points, graduate student forward Jas Singh tallied 14 points and true freshman Chase Mayo Harmon scored 10 in his first postseason game.

UP NEXT: The Rangers will say goodbye to three quality contributors in Singh, Simental and Bokol as the trio are set to graduate from Regis this school year.

Looking back at the 2022-23 season, which saw the Rangers debut a brand new starting five and eight new players on the roster in total, Bergeson said he is proud of how the team bonded and handled adversity throughout the winter.

The Rangers are set to welcome back 11 players for the 2023-24 campaign.

"Any time you turn five starters over, and replace more than half your team in a single recruiting period, there are going to be some learning curves. We did a great job recruiting the right culture kids that fit in and that's sort of the fabric that held the team together during the adversity we faced," Bergeson said. "It's been deeply frustrating at times. But most teams that face those kinds of ups and downs can fragment and implode. It's the difference between winning and losing cultures and our guys just didn't do that. The guys held it together and it speaks to the type of people they are and the bonds they created together."

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