CHICOPEE, Mass. - In a competitive contest that featured seven ties and seven lead changes, Regis College took control in the second half and held on to defeat Elms College, 77-70, Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.
Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) scored a season-high 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field and 6-for-7 shooting from the free throw line, plus he grabbed seven rebounds. Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) notched his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) contributed 10 points to the winning effort, and Gehrig Brynda (Deerfield, Mass.) hit three three-pointers to add a season-high nine points.
After Jaijuan Macklin converted a traditional three-point play to give the Blazers a five-point lead at 33-28 one minute into the second half, Regis made its comeback thanks to a 17-4 scoring run, capped by a traditional three-point play by Latifi and a three-pointer from Rau. Another three-point play from Macklin closed the Pride lead to three at 45-42, but three points from Jamir Harvey (Robbins, Ill.) and a three-pointer by Latifi helped Regis extend its advantage to 53-44 with seven minutes left in the second half.
Another Latifi three-pointer increased the Regis lead into double figures, and then the Pride started making their free throws, going 6-for-6 over the next minute-and-a-half. The Blazers closed to within five points on a traditional three-point play by Tahquell Cadle with 15 seconds remaining in regulation, but Joshua Perez (Lynn, Mass.) and Rau each made two free throws in the final seconds to clinch the game for the Pride.
Elms (3-15, 2-9 GNAC) was led by Cadle with 23 points, while Macklin finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. As a team, the Blazers shot 39.7 percent (27-for-68) from the field, including 6-for-23 from behind the three-point line, and 62.5 percent (10-for-16) from the free throw line.
Regis struck first, opening a seven-point lead at 13-6 on consecutive three-pointers by Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) and Rau. Elms quickly answered with seven straight points, the first five by Jake Midura before a layup by Macklin tied the game at 13-13.
After another three-pointer from Midura, baskets by Tate Pike (Bellingham, Mass.) and Latifi put the Pride on top, 24-21. The Blazers scored the next seven points, Thompson and Latifi each made layups to create another tie at 28-28, and Cadle made a layup in the final minute of the first half to give the home team a 30-28 advantage at halftime.
The Pride shot 41.1 percent (23-for-56) from the field, including 8-for-26 from behind the three-point line, and 79.3 percent (23-for-29) from the charity stripe. Regis enjoyed a slight rebounding edge, 42-40, and scored 17 points off 15 Elms turnovers.
Regis College (8-9, 4-6 GNAC) concludes its four-game road stretch with a contest at Norwich Wednesday, Jan. 25, starting at 5 p.m. The Pride will then host Johnson & Wales next Saturday, Jan. 28, beginning at 1 p.m., with the unveiling of the updated 1,000-point banner featuring Marc Trinidad '22 to take place at halftime.