WESTON, Mass. – Freshman Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) posted 23 points and 13 rebounds, his fourth-straight double-double, to help lead Regis College to a 71-62 win over Southern Vermont College in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon. The Pride improve to 4-10 on the year and 3-3 in the NECC, while the Mountaineers drop to 11-5 and 5-2 in league games.
Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) chipped in 16 points for the Pride, while Osanto Marc Jr. (Kissimmee, Fla.) added 15 points, six rebounds, and a career-high eight assists in the win. Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) each had seven points and five rebounds for Regis.
Southern Vermont was paced by 23 points and 12 rebounds from DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.). Dolupe Olugbile (Laurel, Md.) joined him in double-figures with 13 points, while Izzy Melton (Silver Spring, Md.) and Blair Manners (Auckland, New Zealand) combined for seven points and 14 rebounds in the setback.
Southern Vermont jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on a three from Eddie Mack III (Hartford, Conn.) followed by a jumper from Olugbile, but the Pride responded with an 8-2 run to grab its first lead of the game (8-7) with 17:02 to play in the opening half. An Osanto Marc Jr. steal and fastbreak layup pushed the Pride lead to 10-7, and following a Olugbile layup, Marc Jr. connected on another layup to keep it a 12-9 lead.
At the 15 minute mark, Olugbile scored four-straight points following a Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) freethrow to spark a 5-0 run to put SVC back on top 15-12. Southern Vermont continued to build on its lead and at the 9:14 mark of the first half, the Mountaineers grabbed their largest lead of the game at 23-16 following a DeShawn Hamlet layup.
Ryan Chambers had the answer for the Pride as he connected on an elbow jumper followed by a deep triple to cut the deficit to two. A Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) freethrow and a Jordan Monts jumper put the Pride on top 24-23, before SVC's Brandon Casella (Pittsfield, Mass.) hit a three to give Southern Vermont a short-lived 26-24 lead. Sam Jean-Gilles tied the game at 26-26 and Chambers hit a freethrow to give Regis a slim 27-26 lead with 1:55 remaining.
Marc Jr. hit the last field goal of the half to stake the Pride to a 29-26 lead headed into the break. The Pride held Southern Vermont scoreless over the final 5:48 of the first half. Osanto Marc Jr. led all scorers at the break with 10 points, while Jean-Gilles had eight points and six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Olugbile led SVC with nine points.
The second half started out as a back-and-forth battle as the two teams traded baskets through the opening five minutes of the stanza. The score was tied 38-38 with 15:37 to play when Chambers hit a jumper followed by baskets from Marc Jr. and Monts to put the Pride on top 44-38 and force a Southern Vermont timeout. A DeShawn Hamlet three-pointer at the 10:18 mark made it a two point game, and after a Peana jumper, Hamlet scored inside to keep it a one possession game at 51-49. Branden Casella (Pittsfield, Mass.) connected on a triple to make it a one point game (53-52) with 8:20 on the clock as SVC called a timeout.
Out of the break in action, the Pride rattled off a 9-1 run, capped off by a Jean-Gilles layup on a feed from Marc Jr., to give Regis a commanding 62-53 lead with 2:34 to play. Ervin Cook (Bethesda, Md.) checked into the game and knocked down a three-pointer to keep SVC within striking distance at 62-56, but the Mountaineers were forced to foul and the Pride hit 9-of-14 freebies down the stretch to hang on for the 71-62 victory.
Regis won the rebounding battle 44-31, but committed 13 turnovers compared to just 11 for the visitors. The Pride had one of their best shooting performances of the season, going 27-of-55 from the field (49.1%), while holding Southern Vermont to just 36.5% shooting on 23-of-63 field goals.
The Pride return to action on Tuesday night when they meet Newbury College for the first time this season at 6:00 p.m. on the road. Southern Vermont travels to Mitchell College on Tuesday as well and takes on the Mariners at 6:00 p.m.