WATERVILLE, Maine - Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) delivered a double double with 19 points and 14 rebounds but it wasn't enough as the Regis (Mass.) men's basketball team fell 88-78 to Fitchburg State Friday in the semifinals of the Colby College Tip-Off Tournament.
The Falcons (1-1) will play in the championship game Saturday at 3:00 p.m. against Colby, a 97-96 winner over Pine Manor College in the other game. Regis (0-2) will take on the Gators in the consolation game at 1:00 p.m. Julio Galay (Bronx, N.Y.) posted 18 points and pulled down six rebounds and Isaiah Wilson (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) added 12 points and three rebounds.
The Pride (0-2) was unable to overcome a monster performance from FSU's Jaleel Bell (Dorchester, Mass.) who dropped 44 points on 13-22 shooting and 13-14 from the free throw line. Fitchburg State helped its own cause by hitting 25 of its 30 free throws. Jalen Williams (Meriden, Conn.) added 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for FSU who led 45-40 at halftime and never trailed in the second half.
Regis came out of the gates hot, racing out to a 12-4 lead capped by a Shaun Wingfield (Pembroke, Pines, Fla.) three pointer. The momentum shifted in the blink of an eye however as FSU reeled off 14 straight points spearheaded by back-to-back three pointers from Bell. FSU extended the lead to eight points but Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) scored six straight points to shave the deficit to 25-23 midway through the first half.
The Pride kept the game within striking distance in the second half but were never able to regain the lead it lost in the first half. Back-to-back layups from Galay and Afonja shaved the lead to 75-71 with 5:27 to play but Bell responded with a three pointer to stymie the momentum.
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