WESTON, Mass. - Down by as much as 18 in the early stages of the second half, the Regis (Mass.) men's basketball team fell just short in its comeback effort on Saturday afternoon, falling to Daniel Webster by a score of 63-59 at Higgins Court in New England Collegiate Conference action.
With the loss, the Pride falls to 6-13 (3-7 NECC) on the season and sees its losing skid extend to five games, while Daniel Webster improves to 11-7 (5-4 NECC).
The Pride struggled from all over the floor in the first half, which allowed Daniel Webster to take a 34-19 lead into the break. Regis opened made just two of its first 20 field goals and finished the half shooting 5-for-27 (18.5%) from the floor. The story was no different from beyond the arc, where the home team was 0-for-9. At the other end of the court, the Eagles couldn't miss from three, hitting 7-of-10 in the opening half. Senior Angelo Adon (Silver Spring, Md.) led the way for Daniel Webster, hitting all four of his threes in the period for 12 points.
Daniel Webster sophomore Jared Harrington (Upper Marlboro, Md.) gave the Eagles their largest lead of the night with 17:25 remaining in the second half when his three-pointer put his team up 39-21. The Pride though used a full court press starting in the second half that left the visitors scrambling, as the Pride forced 15 second half turnovers to ignite the comeback. Regis began to chip away in response, scoring the next seven points to cut the deficit to 11.
After the Eagles offense responded to bring the lead back to 50-34 on a Jaquan Harrison (Windsor, Conn.) layup with 11:39 remaining, the Pride went on another impressive run, scoring the next 10 points over the next three minutes to cut the lead to six. With 2:45 left on the clock, the Pride tied the game for the first time since the opening tipoff on a layup by sophomore Jordan Seldon (Everett, Mass.), but the Eagles would not allow the Pride to take the lead away. On the next possession, Adon hit his fifth, and biggest, three of the game to put Daniel Webster up for good.
The Pride had multiple chances in the final minute to tie, but ultimately ran out of time as Daniel Webster held on for the win. Senior Sam Jean-Gilles had a look from three to tie with seven seconds remaining, but the ball hopped off the rim to Daniel Webster's Antwaun Boyd (Stamford, Conn.), who put the final nail in the coffin at the free throw line.
Regis junior Julio Galay (Bronx, N.Y.) led all scorers on the afternoon with 17 points, while Daniel Webster was led by Adon's 15. Seldon, Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) and Jean-Gilles all finished the day in double figures for the Pride, scoring 14, 12 and 11 points respectively.
The Pride will return to action on Tuesday night in an NECC matchup against Becker at Higgins Court. Daniel Webster plays again the same night at home against Elms College at 7:30 p.m.
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