Regis Men’s Hoop Prevails in GNAC Contest Over Dean, 74-71

WESTON, Mass. – In a game that came down right to the wire, Regis College hit key shots in the final stretch to defeat Dean College, 74-71, Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

For the second straight game, all five starters scored in double figures for the Pride, this time led by Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) with 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field. Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) went 6-for-8 from behind the three-point line to finish with 18 points, while Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) collected 12 points, four assists, and three steals. Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) ended up with 11 points and five rebounds, and Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) added 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Latifi hit two three-pointers early in the first half to help the Pride establish a 10-4 advantage. Later in the first half, Dean scored six straight points to tie the game at 24-24, but Regis quickly responded with 12 unanswered points, featuring two more three-pointers from Latifi, to open a 36-24 lead. A three-pointer from Winston Bryan and a traditional three-point play by Hunter Meyer cut the Pride advantage in half, but Evelyn made a three-pointer to give Regis a nine-point halftime lead at 39-30.

The Bulldogs put together a 16-4 scoring run in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the second half, punctuated by consecutive three-pointers from Nick Sampeck, to pull ahead, 46-43. Joshua Perez (Lynn, Mass.) hit a three-pointer with nine minutes left in regulation to tie the game at 54-54, but Dean retook the lead thanks to a three-pointer from Traijan Powell.

Down by four with 3:12 left in the second half, Regis battled back thanks to a layup by Wilkerson and a traditional three-point play from Rau. Sampeck hit a jumper to put the Bulldogs back on top, but Wilkerson made two free throws on the ensuing possession and then, after a Dean turnover, Latifi hit his sixth three-pointer of the game to extend the Pride lead to 72-68 with 39.9 seconds showing on the clock.

Bryan brought the Bulldogs back within one on a three-pointer, and Dean forced a Regis turnover to earn an opportunity to take the lead. However, Dean missed a shot and committed a foul during the rebound attempt. Trinidad hit both free throws to increase the Regis lead back to three, and Bryan's game-tying attempt spun out of the basket as time ran out.

Mark Blair led the Bulldogs with 18 points and five assists, plus he pulled down nine rebounds, while Meyer finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double and Bryan contributed 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. As a team, Dean shot 50 percent (31-for-62) from the field, including 6-for-13 from behind the three-point line, plus it outrebounded Regis, 41-23, including 12 offensive boards that led to 10 second chance points.

The Pride shot 46.6 percent (27-for-58) from the field, including 10-for-19 from behind the three-point line, and 62.5 percent (10-for-16) from the free throw line. Committing just nine turnovers during the game, Regis scored 20 points off 18 Dean turnovers.

Regis College (10-10, 7-7 GNAC) heads to New Haven, Conn., to face Albertus Magnus Thursday, Feb. 10, starting at 7 p.m. Dean College (6-14, 1-12 GNAC) hosts Elms College Thursday night starting at 7:30 p.m.