Regis Men’s Hoop Unable to Slow Down Saints

STANDISH, Maine – Regis College was not able to slow down the momentum of Emmanuel College, as the Saints earned the eighth victory in their last nine games with a 73-64 victory over the Pride Saturday afternoon in the Catholic Classic hosted by Saint Joseph's College at the Harold Alfond Center.

Jordan Seldon (Dorchester, Mass.) led the Pride with 12 points, while Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) hit three three-pointers as he finished with 11 points. Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) ended up with eight points and six rebounds, Shawn Wedderburn (Bronx, N.Y.) collected six points, six rebounds, three assists, and four blocked shots, Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) contributed seven rebounds and seven assists, and Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) added seven points and seven rebounds off the bench.

After Rosa hit a three-pointer early in the first half to tie the game at 7-7, Emmanuel scored nine unanswered points to pull ahead, 16-7, six minutes into the contest. The Pride closed to within three at 20-17 midway through the first half, but the Saints put together a 7-2 scoring run, capped by a three-pointer from Emmett Riddick, to extend their lead to 27-19.

Emmanuel (8-3) scored the first 10 points of the second half to increase their lead to 16 points four minutes after halftime. Regis scored seven straight points later in the half to close to within seven at 56-49, but the Saints answered with seven unanswered points of their own, punctuated by a three-pointer from Zachary Crisafulli, to extend their advantage back into double digits for most of the remaining time.

Marcus Fox led the Saints with 23 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Riddick finished with 18 points, Isaiah Ruffen added six points and nine rebounds, and Joe Tamburro contributed nine points, six rebounds, and four assists off the bench.

As a team, Emmanuel shot 40.3 percent (29-of-72) from the field, including 6-of-20 from behind the three-point line, and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. The Saints enjoyed a slight rebounding edge, 47-43, including 14 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second chance points, plus they scored 17 points off 16 Regis turnovers.

The Pride shot 39.7 percent (27-of-68) from the field, including 6-of-20 from behind the three-point line. However, Regis struggled with its free throw opportunities, hitting only 4-of-11 attempts from the charity stripe.

Regis (4-6) will face Rivier in another non-conference game against a GNAC foe Sunday, Dec. 30, starting at 1 p.m. The Pride open 2019 with a home game against Fitchburg State Wednesday, Jan. 2, beginning at 6 p.m. at Higgins Court.