CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Despite having four players reach double figures in scoring, Regis College could not overcome the offense of Pine Manor College, as the Gators held on to defeat the Pride, 101-95, Saturday afternoon in a non-conference men's collegiate basketball game at Brunelli Court.
Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) notched the 17th double-double of his collegiate career, leading the Pride with 25 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 shooting from the free throw line. Milik Wallace (Hinesville, Ga.) hit five three-pointers on his way to a career-high 17 points, Juvens Dalger (City of Sunrise, Fla.) also earned a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) hit four three-pointers for 12 points of his own.
The first half went back and forth, with Regis taking control midway through the half on three-pointers by Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Rosa. Pine Manor scored seven unanswered points to retake the lead at 23-21, but the Pride again used the long distance shot, as three-pointers by Rosa and Jordan Seldon (Dorchester, Mass.) helped Regis pull ahead, 32-26, with eight minutes left in the half.
Down 34-29, Pine Manor took the momentum thanks to a 20-5 scoring run to end the first half, led by 11 points from Steven Collins. The Gators extended a 10-point halftime lead to 19 early in the second half at 60-41 with an 11-2 scoring run, featuring eight points from Sayvonn Houston.
The Pride scored eight straight points, capped by a traditional three-point play from Afonja, to close their deficit to 11, but the Gators once again pulled away thanks to a 7-1 scoring run. Regis drew within seven by putting together a 12-2 scoring run, with Afonja hitting two free throws with five minutes remaining in regulation to cut the Pine Manor lead to 81-74.
Pine Manor (4-9) scored seven unanswered points to extend its lead back into double digits as time continued to tick down. Wallace hit two three-pointers in the span of four seconds to bring the Pride within four, but the Gators held off the visitors by going 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the final minute.
Houston shot 14-of-24 from the field as he finished with a game-high 30 points and 14 rebounds, while Collins finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and four steals. Jamel Hamans went 12-of-14 from the free throw line to end up with 17 points, Shaun Miller hit four three-pointers as he scored 13 points, and Rasheed Bell added six points, 11 rebounds, and four steals to the winning effort.
The Pride shot 41.0 percent (32-of-78) from the field, including 12-of-30 from behind the three-point line, and 70.4 percent (19-of-27) from the free throw line. The Gators enjoyed similar numbers with 40.8 percent (31-of-76) shooting from the field, including 13-of-30 from long distance, but Pine Manor took advantage of its free throw chances, making 86.7 percent (26-of-30) of its attempts from the charity stripe. The Gators enjoyed a slight rebounding edge, 52-47, and each team committed 19 turnovers.
Regis (5-8) closes its non-conference schedule Wednesday, Jan. 9, at Suffolk beginning at 6 p.m. The Pride open their Great Northeast Athletic Conference slate at home against Norwich next Saturday, Jan. 12, starting at 3 p.m. at Higgins Court.