WESTON, Mass. – Regis College lost to ninth ranked University of Saint Joseph, 81-56, Sunday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.
Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) led the Pride in scoring with 11 points, plus he pulled down seven rebounds. Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) and Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) scored 10 points apiece, while Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) led the team on the boards with 10 rebounds.
The teams exchanged baskets for the first five minutes of the contest before Ryan O'Neill hit a three-pointer to give the Blue Jays a lead they would not relinquish. Down by 10 points midway through the first half, the Pride scored nine unanswered points, featuring two three-pointers from Latifi, to close to within one at 21-20 with 7:52 remaining in the first half, but USJ put together a 13-3 scoring run to open an 11-point advantage at 34-23.
USJ closed the first half with a 7-2 scoring run to take a 43-27 lead into halftime, and then a three-pointer by Tyree Mitchell capped a 9-2 scoring stretch for the Blue Jays that extended their lead to 56-37. Mitchell scored eight points during a 12-0 USJ run midway through the second half that put the game away.
Mitchell led the Blue Jays with 19 points, while Jordan Powell finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and two blocked shots. O'Neill finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Chaylyn Martin added 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
As a team, USJ shot 43.5 percent (30-for-69) from the field and 78.3 percent (18-for-23) from the free throw line. The Blue Jays won the rebounding battle, 51-41, and scored 18 points off 18 Regis turnovers.
The Pride shot just 28.1 percent (18-for-64) from the field overall, but they did make 8-of-20 attempts from behind the three-point line as well as 70.6 percent (12-for-17) of their free throw opportunities.
Regis College (7-8, 4-5 GNAC) continues a busy stretch with a road game at Johnson & Wales Tuesday, Feb. 1, beginning at 7:30 p.m. University of Saint Joseph (16-0, 11-0 GNAC) hosts Dean College Tuesday night starting at 7 p.m.