LEICESTER, Mass. - Becker College defeated Regis College 63-57 in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action Tuesday night at the Leicester Gymnasium. The win lifts the Hawks record to 10-8 (7-2 NECC) while the Pride fall to 7-13 (4-7 NECC). The setback ends the Crimson and Gold's three game winning streak.
Becker's Samuel Durodola (Rosedale, N.Y.) shot 50 percent field and seven of eight from the line to lead all scorers with 17 points. Freshman guard Kareem Davis (Lowell, Mass.) dished out a game-best five assists while chipping in with 14 points. With the Hawks clinging to a 59-57 lead with 16 second remaining in the game, Kyle Credle (Queens, N.Y.) nailed a jumper to seal the win. Credle would finish with 13 points.
Freshman forward Ademola Afonia (Staten Island, N.Y.) came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points for Regis. Jeff Tagger Jr. (Brockton, Mass.) added ten points while Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) tallied nine. Jawaun Lewis (Jacksonville, Fla.) gathered a game-high eight rebounds.
Becker started off fast scoring the first five points of the contest with Kareem Davis knocking down a three-ball and Samuel Durodola converting a layup from the post. After Jawaun Lewis made a layup, Reginald Finney (Ansonia, Conn.) hit a shot from downtown to put the hosts up 8-2 in the early going.
Regis took their first lead of the contest after three's from Tagger Jr. and layups from Monts to go up one, 14-13 with 13:59 to play in the stanza. After a unit change, Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) went off for the Pride scoring five points off a three-pointer and a jumper to put the guests up 19-13.
The Hawks outscored the Pride 19-6 over the final minutes of the half to put the hosts up 34-31 at the intermission.
Regis started off the second half strong with a Tagger Jr. three to knot up the score at 34 all. Both teams exchanged points until Regis found themselves up four, 43-39 after a Hector Heredia (Lawrence, Mass.) three and an Afonja jumper from the elbow.
Becker went on a 10-0 run to regain the lead with 4:50 to go with a few three-balls and free throws. Chris Leak Jr. ended the Hawks run with a layup. With 1:16 left, Tagger Jr. converted a jump shot to make it a 57-55 Becker advantage, but Hector Heredia committed a foul that put Kareem Davis at the line. Davis made both freebies, and Afonja responded with free throws of his own to cut the deficit to 59-57 with 45 seconds left.
Regis couldn't get a stop a Kyle Credle buried a dagger that ended the hopes of a Pride comeback.
Both teams return to NECC action on Thursday, February 4th at 8:00 p.m. Becker will travel to Elms College for a tilt with the Blazers while Regis hosts Mitchell College.