Regis (CO) Regis 12-9,9-6 RMAC

N.M. Highlands NMH 7-12,5-10 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

12-9,9-6 RMAC

Final

Feb. 03, 2024

N.M. Highlands NMH

7-12,5-10 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Regis (CO) Regis	43	51	94
N.M. Highlands NMH	51	34	85

Summary
Box Score

Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics

Junior guard Trey Bryant (#11) scored 13 points and added four rebounds in Saturday's win over NMHU. (File Photo)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | Feb 03 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Rangers close on 16-7 run, knock off NMHU to sweep weekend road trip

LAS VEGAS, N.M. — In what has been a season-long maturation journey for a young Regis University men's basketball squad, Saturday night's 94-85 road win over New Mexico Highlands University provided another benchmark.

Regis (12-9 overall, 9-5 RMAC), which began the week just 2-5 on the road in 2023-24, swept its first road weekend of the season with Saturday's performance and has pushed its current winning streak to four straight while holding down the No. 4 spot in the RMAC standings with just seven games remaining.

"Tonight was all about answering the bell at halftime. I really thought New Mexico Highlands played really well and gave us a lot of problems, especially in the first half, and we came out a bit flat," said Regis head men's basketball coach, Brady Bergeson. "We didn't make any big adjustments for the second half. We kind of just called ourselves out on the urgency with which we were doing things. And that was really the difference. And when our guys are playing committed, focused and doing the little things, we're a pretty good team."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Behind a 61 percent (19-for-31) shooting effort, it was the Cowboys (8-12 overall, 5-10 RMAC) who owned the opening period and enjoyed a 51-43 lead at the break.

Regis responded coming out of the halftime locker rooms with an 8-0 run, tying the score for the first time since the opening tip at 51-51, courtesy of a 3-pointer from freshman guard Jalen Brown at the 17:41 mark.

Like an old western, the Rangers and Cowboys were locked in a shootout the rest of the way, with the score deadlocked at 78-78 as late as the 3:56 mark.

"We came out of that under-four media timeout in a tie ballgame and our guys were really locked in on what they needed to do," Bergeson said. "We had some guys really step up to make plays for us and, ultimately, what won us that game was the urgency we showed in the second half."

The Rangers dominated the final four minutes of action as they closed the game on a 16-7 run, which including a two-minute stretch where they held the high-powered Cowboys without a made field goal to salt away the 94-85 final.

Complimenting the Rangers' second-half defensive effort was a well-balanced offensive attack on Saturday as the team's 94 points were the second most scored by Regis in a game this winter, trailing only the 109 points put up on Barclay back in November.

Regis had five different players score in double-figures, led by sophomore guard Chase Mayo Harmon with 18 points, and seven Rangers with eight or more points.

Redshirt junior guard Eddy Egun tallied 14 points to go with four rebounds and four assists, the duo of Trey Bryant and Vojin Mastilovic each added 13 points apiece, and senior forward Tarig Eisa chipped in 11 points, three blocks, three steals and a team-high eight rebounds to round out the Rangers in double-figures.

"It was a very balanced night for us with different guys stepping up at different times. In the first half, it was Vojin and CJ Reed (nine points) who made some shorts to carry us in stretches," Bergeson said. "Eddy had a big streak in there during the second half. And then it was Tarig and Chase late in the game who made some big shots. I thought we did a great job taking advantage of what the defense was giving us."

GAME NOTES

The Regis offense shot exactly 53.57 percent (15-for-28) in each half.
Freshman forward Olafur Styrmisson and Egun joined Eisa with three steals apiece while Regis finished with 14 total steals as a team.
Regis won the turnover battle, 17-8, and converted those 17 NMHU turnovers into 17 points.

UP NEXT
The Rangers briefly return home next weekend — their only two home games in the month of February — when they welcome in nationally ranked Colorado Mesa University (7 p.m. Friday) and Westminster University (5 p.m. Saturday).

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