WESTON, Mass. – Behind a record-tying shooting performance from Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.), Regis College stayed with 22nd-ranked University of Saint Joseph for a while, but the Blue Jays used a 60 percent field goal shooting performance in the second half to defeat the Pride, 91-73, Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.
Dalger tied the Regis single game record for most made three-pointers, going 8-for-11 from long distance as part of a 10-for-17 field goal shooting effort leading to a career-high 28 points, plus he pulled down eight rebounds. Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists, and Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) contributed eight points and five rebounds off the bench.
A layup by Trinidad and a three-pointer from Dalger gave the Pride a 5-2 lead in the first minute of the game, but Saint Joseph scored seven straight points, capped by a three-pointer from Delshawn Jackson Jr., to open a 9-5 advantage. Regis came within one point four different times, the last at 15-14 after a layup by Cam Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.), but the Blue Jays rattled off 11 unanswered points, punctuated by a dunk from Jordan Powell, to extend their lead to 26-14 midway through the first half.
The Pride put together a 11-3 scoring run, featuring two three-pointers from Dalger and five points by Zak Latifi (Holliston, Mass.), to cut their deficit to four at 35-31. Another three-pointer from Dalger with 1:32 left in the first half brought Regis within two at 38-36, but Jackson Jr. scored four points in the final minute to give Saint Joseph a 42-36 halftime lead.
The combination of Trinidad and Dalger allowed Regis to stay within striking distance for the first three minutes of the second half, but the Blue Jays effectively put the game away thanks to a 16-2 scoring run over a six-minute span. Saint Joseph hit 21-of-35 field goal attempts in the second half, finishing the game shooting 55.2 percent (37-of-67) from the field and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the free throw line.
Five players reached double figures in scoring for USJ, led by Jackson Jr. with 23 points and Powell with 18 points as he was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. Taelon Martin notched a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, as did Jaecee Martin with 11 points and 12 assists, and Kumar Brown added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Blue Jays.
The Pride shot 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field, including 11-of-23 from behind the three-point line, and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the free throw line. The Blue Jays won the rebounding battle, 39-30, including 14 offensive boards leading to 23 second chance points, plus USJ scored 21 points off 18 Regis turnovers.
Saint Joseph (20-2, 8-0 GNAC), now with a two-game lead in the league standings with three games remaining, travel to Emmanuel, tied for second in the GNAC at 6-2, this Saturday, Feb. 15, for a 1 p.m. start.
Regis (7-15, 3-5 GNAC) faces Saint Joseph's College, the team it is tied with for eighth place in the standings, in Standish, Maine, Saturday, Feb. 15, starting at 1 p.m. The Pride close the regular season against the two teams immediately ahead of them in the standings, first hosting Colby-Sawyer Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m., before playing at Suffolk Saturday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m.