Regis Men’s Hoop Loses to Lasell

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College held the lead heading into halftime, but Lasell University rallied in the second half for a 65-55 victory over the Pride Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) notched his seventh double-double of the season, leading the Pride with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals, becoming the fifth player in program history to reach 100 career steals.

After Regis scored the first four points of the game, Lasell rattled off eight unanswered points to pull ahead early in the first half.  The Pride put together a 9-2 scoring run to retake the lead at 15-12, but Demerrick Warren hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 15-15 with 5:08 left in the first half.

Fouled attempting a three-pointer, Joshua Perez (Lynn, Mass.) hit all three free throws, and Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) followed with his own three-pointer to give Regis a 21-15 lead. Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer as the Pride earned their largest lead of the night at 26-19, and a jumper by Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) in the final seconds put Regis on top at halftime, 30-25.

The Lasers chipped away at their deficit early in the second half, eventually taking the lead at 39-37 on a three-pointer by Conan McCusker. Latifi answered with a three-pointer to put the Pride back on top, but the Lasers took the lead for good on a layup by Jonathan Friberg and two made free throws from Kevin Nunez.

After Wilkerson made a layup to bring the Pride within one, Lasell put the game away thanks to a 12-2 scoring run that spanned four minutes, capped by another McCusker three-pointer.

Friberg earned a double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds, as did Kevin Vanderhorst with 11 points and 15 rebounds. The Lasers won the rebounding battle, 49-43, including 14 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second chance points.

Lasell shot 39.3 percent (24-for-61) from the field and 66.7 percent (12-for-18) from the free throw line, while Regis shot 27.9 percent (19-for-68) from the field and 72.2 percent (13-for-18) from the free throw line.

Regis College (10-12, 7-9) hosts Johnson & Wales Thursday, Feb. 17, starting at 8 p.m., with a Senior Night presentation honoring Trinidad and Wilkerson taking place before the game. Lasell (14-9, 11-6 GNAC) closes out its regular season at Saint Joseph's College Saturday, Feb. 19, with a 3 p.m. tipoff.