RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Regis University Men's Basketball team and South Dakota Mines met for an RMAC bout on Thursday night, with the Rangers emerging victorious, 103-98. The Rangers improve to 2-19 (1-14 RMAC), while the Hardrockers fall to 9-14 (6-9 RMAC).
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 2-7, the Rangers battled back with baskets from Cooper Frith and Luke Soden, while Nick Marabito hit a jumper and assisted a Soden three for the 11-9 lead. The teams traded seven back-and-forth three-point buckets, with RU getting contributions from Gunner Walters, Marabito, and Frith. Trailing 20-25, Marabito took over for Regis, scoring the next 12 points for RU, including two triples. Frith connected from deep to take a 35-33 lead. Followed by a pair of free throws from Dylan Forbord. With a minute left in the half, Walters hit a three, Soden scored in the paint, and Frith found Forbord for a layup to beat the halftime buzzer, the Rangers leading 44-42.
Frith scored first for the Rangers in the second half, followed by Soden blocking a Hardrocker layup. Soden and Walters hit triples, while Frith came up with a steal, leading to a trip to the line. Another Soden three capped a 7-0 run for Regis, while Rifky Sedhom found Marabito for another three. Logan Flores-Peoples assisted Sedhom under the basket to go up 10, but Mines began to cut into the lead. A Jason Lee three, followed by a Gray Thompson layup brought the game within one, 72-71, but Walters nailed a three and Forbord converted a layup to give the Rangers some breathing room. A Walters three sparked another run that saw a Soden steal, and a pair of Frith layups that pushed the advantage back up to double digits, 85-73, prompting an SDM timeout. The Rockers earned a few trips to the line, and after two free throws from Forbord, a Rocker three shrank the lead back to single digits. Ryan Sweeny hit a tough three for Mines, but Flores-People answered with a jumper of his own. The teams alternated late trips to the line, and the dagger came as Soden stole the inbound pass, allowing Frith another trip to the stripe. While Mines connected on a couple of last-second threes, Frith's final free throws put them out of reach, and Regis won, 103-98.
GAME NOTES
· Frith led the Rangers with 29 points on 67/50/92 splits
· Marabito (22) and Soden (21) surpassed 20 points as well
· Walters scored 17 to go with five assists and two steals
· Soden and Forbord both grabbed six rebounds
· Sweeney led the Rockers with 30 points
· Lee added 22 and eight dimes
· As a team, Regis shot 64% from the field, 71.4% from three, and 76% from the line
· 71.4% three points shooting as a team sets a new Regis record
· 64.3% is the fourth-best team shooting percentage in team history
· 15 threes made as a team is the eighth-best mark in Ranger history
· The last time Regis broke 100 points was on November 18, 2023 (109-74, W, Barclay)
UP NEXT
Regis travels to #20 Black Hills State University (S.D.) on Saturday, Feb 14, tip-off at 3 pm.
