WESTON, Mass. – Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) wowed the crowd with a series of dunks as part of a 25-point, 10-rebound performance to guide the Regis (Mass.) men's basketball team to its highest point total in nearly a decade with a 98-71 win over Mount Ida in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action Saturday at Higgins Court.
The 98 points scored was the most in a regulation game in the history of Regis men's basketball, and the highest since a 101-96 double overtime win vs. Anna Maria in 2009, with Afonja's point total eclipsing a career-high 22 points he scored earlier this season. Roger Hamel (Huntington Beach, Calif.) added 15 points and eight rebounds, including 3-4 from beyond the arc with Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Calif.) adding 12 points off the bench.
Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) was the high scorer for the Mustangs with 20 points while adding a team-best 17 rebounds. Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) put up 13 points with John Oliver (North Babylon, N.Y.) adding eight points and four rebounds.
Despite the big win, Regis trailed by four at halftime but exploded for 66 second-half points to win going away. The Pride emerged from the locker room and seized control of the game. After an Oliver layup to open the half, Regis ran off nine straight points including Tim Broom's (Jacksonville, Fla.) three ball to go up 39-38. The run continued with Afonja again attacking the rim with back-to-back dunks to put his team up 47-38 just over five minutes into the half.
The early dagger came from Hamel who stole an inbounds pass off a made Lewis layup then pulled up for a three pointer to push the lead to 62-46 with 9:53 to play. Hamel did it again minutes later, this time scoring at the rim to lift the lead to over 20 points.
Mount Ida (8-8, 2-5 GNAC) had the hot hand early and led 12-4 just over four minutes into the game. Consecutive three pointers from Oliver and Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) helped the Mustangs to the early lead. The Pride then went on a nice run to go up 20-14 with just over 10 minutes to play in the half. The Mustangs would respond with a run of its own and take an eight-point lead with 2:54 to play after a Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) three pointer, and later a 36-32 lead at the half.
The Pride next host league leader Albertus Magnus this Thursday, Jan. 20 at 7:00 p.m. Next up for Mount Ida is a host game against Rivier Tuesday, Jan. 23.
#RegisMBB