Men’s Basketball Advances to GNAC Quarterfinal with 66-59 Victory

WESTON, Mass. – In a game that was defensive in nature in the first half before an offensive outburst in the second half, Regis College shot over 60 percent from the field after halftime on its way to a 66-59 victory over Colby-Sawyer College Tuesday night in a first round game of the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at Higgins Court.

Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) tied his career high with 20 points, scoring 17 of them in the second half as he shot 8-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line, during the contest. Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) notched his eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) finished with 12 points and Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) contributed eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.

Regis scored the first six points of the game before Kevin Cummings opened the scoring for the Chargers with a three-pointer. Down 10-5, Colby-Sawyer put together an 8-3 scoring run to tie the game at 13-13 before the Pride retook the lead on two free throws by Trinidad and a jumper from Wilkins.

After a layup by Omar Boone brought Colby-Sawyer within one at 19-18, Regis closed the first half with a 9-4 scoring stretch over the final six minutes to take a 28-22 lead into halftime. The Chargers quickly erased their deficit in the first two minutes of the second half, as Scott Lampron made consecutive baskets and Zack Caraballo followed with a layup to tie the game at 28-28. 

Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) started a 10-2 Pride run with a three-pointer, followed by consecutive layups by Trinidad and a three-pointer by Wilkins. Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) hit a three-pointer and Evelyn followed with a jumper to extend the Regis advantage to its largest of the night at 49-40 midway through the second half.

Colby-Sawyer responded with a 10-3 scoring run over the next three-and-a-half minutes, capped by consecutive three-pointers from Lampron that tied the game at 52-52 with 6:26 left in regulation. After a Regis timeout, Evelyn scored all nine points during a 9-2 run over the next two minutes that put the Pride ahead for good.

After he was fouled attempting a three-pointer with 21 seconds left, Lampron connected on all three free throw attempts to close the Charger deficit to five. However, Regis successfully used most of the remaining time, and Trinidad capped the Pride victory with two made three throws with 2.2 seconds showing on the clock.

Lampron scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as he shot 9-for-15 from the field for the game, while Boone notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. After shooting 50 percent (16-for-32) from the field in the second half, the Chargers ended up at 42.4 percent (25-for-59) field goal shooting.

The Pride hit 14-of-23 field goal attempts in the second half, including 6-of-7 shots from behind the three-point line, to finish with a field goal percentage of 40.4 percent (23-for-57). Regis enjoyed a slight rebounding edge, 40-37, and scored 14 points off 14 Charger turnovers.

Regis College (13-12), the seventh seed in the GNAC Tournament, will have a quick turnaround as it travels to New Haven, Conn., to face second seed Albertus Magnus Wednesday, Feb. 23, starting at 7:30 p.m. Colby-Sawyer, the 10^th seed in the tournament, sees its season end with a 9-15 overall record.