PRIDE GRAB FIRST WIN OF 2014

PRIDE GRAB FIRST WIN OF 2014

LEICESTER, Mass. – The Regis College men's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 50-39 victory on the road at Becker College on Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference action. The win lifts the Pride record to 3-8 (2-1 NECC), while the Hawks fall to 5-6 (3-1 NECC).

The win marks the first victory of 2014 for Regis, while it is also the first time the Pride have beaten the Hawks on their own floor since joining the NECC in 2011.

Regis was led by Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.), who earned a double-double with a game high 14 points and ten rebounds. Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) tallied 12 points and nine rebounds, while Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) chipped in with ten points.

Osanto Marc Jr. (Kissimmee, Fla.) also added nine points and he and Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) each grabbed seven rebounds on the night.

The Pride struggled from the floor shooting, mustering only a 34% clip (18-of-53), but the Crimson and Gold connected on 11-of-15 freethrows to hang on for the victory. The Pride held Becker to 31.5% shooting (17-of-54) and won both the rebounding battle (42-33) and turnover margin (11-12).

Regis jumped out to a 15-2 lead to start the game, but a 10-0 run from the Hawks cut the deficit to 15-12 with 7:42 to play in the half. The Pride lead never fell below five over the final minutes of the opening period as they grabbed a 23-16 advantage headed into halftime.

In the second half, Becker fought its way back into the game as a David Maturah (Windsor Locks, Conn.) layup gave the Hawks a short-lived 27-26 lead with 11:09 to play. Peana answered at the other end to take back the lead for Regis, and following a pair of Kyle Credle (Queens, N.Y.) freethrows, a Marc Jr. three-point play put the visitors back up two at 31-29 as the game headed under 10 minutes to play.

Jean-Gilles connected on back-to-back layups at the 4:32 to mark to put Regis on top by seven, followed by triples from the freshman and Ryan Chambers to stake the Pride to a 44-33 advantage. Becker would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way as the Pride grabbed a crucial conference win on the road.

David Maturah was the lone Hawk in double figures with ten points for the home team, while freshman Kyle Credle came off the bench to score eight points.

The Pride return home on Saturday afternoon for another NECC matchup, this time with Mitchell College in a 2:00 p.m. game.