BROOKLINE, Mass. - The Regis College men's basketball team defeated New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) foe Newbury College, 84-68 in overtime on Thursday evening. The Pride claimed their second straight win to improve to 5-10 overall and 4-3 in league play.
Freshman forward Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) and junior guard Osanto Marc Jr. (Kissimmee, Fla.) combined for over 50% of the Pride's scoring on the night. Jean-Gilles, the reigning NECC Rookie of the Week, registered his fifth consecutive double-double after grabbing ten rebounds and scoring a game-high 23 points, 13 of which came in the five minute overtime period. Marc Jr. pitched in with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Regis jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead before junior forward David Hart (Keene, N.H.) cut the deficit down to two, draining an outside trey. After Jean-Gilles extended the Pride lead back to four, Newbury senior guard Eric Watson (New Rochelle, N.Y.) found junior forward Daniel Thelemaque (Somerville, Mass.) at the perimeter to bring the Nighthawks within one point.
Senior guard Ahmad Charles (Cambridge, Mass.) had an answer, sparking a 9-0 run at 16:38, knocking down a jumper to give the Pride a 17-6 lead with less than 13 minutes remaining in the first half. However, Newbury junior center Cameron Owen (Concord, N.H.) broke up the three-minute scoreless string, netting his first of two treys in the period.
Midway through the first half, trailing by double digits, 19-9, first year guard Daivon Edwards (Somerville, Mass.) picked the pocket of Jean-Gilles and took it back down court for the fast-break lay-up. Edwards' steal and lay-up ignited a five-minute, 16-3 run culminating in a trey from junior forward Christian Sheridan (Chicago, Ill.) at 4:30 to give the Nighthawks their first lead of the contest.
Senior forward Adam James (Queens, N.Y.) extended Newbury's lead to four, 30-26, with three minutes remaining in the contest but Regis answered. First year forward Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) sent the teams in to the locker rooms all square at 30-30 with a put-back lay-up.
It was a tale of two halves. With only two ties and one lead change in the first half, it was a complete 180 in the second half when the teams returned to the floor. Watson gave Newbury (1-15, 1-6 NECC) a four-point advantage four minutes into the half with a lay-up, but Regis was not going to make it easy. The Nighthawks and Pride exchanged the lead four times in the second period while knotted up the score six times.
After Pride sophomore guard Chris Keaton (Beverly, Mass.) tied up the contest, for the third time in the half, at 39-39, Regis began to pull away with a 6-0 run. But the Nighthawks were not going to be denied. Junior guard Mills Carrasco (Haverhill, Mass.) broke up the Pride run draining a trey midway through the contest as the Nighthawks started to chip away at the deficit.
With just over two minutes to play, Watson picked the pocket of Charles and took back down court for a lay-up and converted on the three-point play to give the Nighthawks their first lead, 62-60, since the 13 minute mark of the period. For the next two minutes, it was a see-saw battle with Newbury and Regis exchanging the lead twice and tying up the score three times including at the end of regulation, 65-65.
The Pride jumped out early in the five-minute overtime period with a 4-0 run to take a 69-65 lead and they did not look back. Jean-Gilles shot four-for-six from the field and five-for-six from the charity stripe to register 13 points, while Marc, Jr. netted four of his 21 points during extra time.
The Nighthawks return to action on Saturday January 25th when they host NECC foe Mitchell College at 2:00 p.m. The Pride will also be in action this weekend hosting conference foe Lesley University at 3:00 p.m. in Weston, Mass.
Release courtesy of Newbury Sports Information