ATLANTA, Ga. – Led by the second straight 20 point-10 rebound double-double for junior Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.), Regis College took control midway through the second half and then held off Oglethorpe University, 79-74, Saturday afternoon to finish 2-0 in the Jack Berkshire Classic at Dorough Field House.
Rau, the MVP of the Jack Berkshire Classic, shot 11-for-18 from the field, including four made three-pointers, as he finished with a season-high 28 points along with 12 rebounds. Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) also posted a season-high scoring total with 14 points, 12 of them coming in the second half, while Gehrig Brynda (Deerfield, Mass.) contributed eight points off the bench. Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) was also named to the All-Tournament Team after he finished with seven points and four assists against Oglethorpe.
Oglethorpe (4-7) scored the first six points of the game, but Regis responded with eight straight points, including three-pointers from Evelyn and Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.). After a three-pointer from Brynda, the Stormy Petrels put together a 12-2 scoring run, capped by a traditional three-point play from Perry Robinson, to open a 24-15 advantage.
Rau scored 14 straight points for the Pride to help them erase their deficit late in the first half, with a layup by Latifi and a three-pointer from Tate Pike (Bellingham, Mass.) putting Regis on top, 36-34. Right before the halftime buzzer, Malachi Dooley converted a tip-in to create a 36-36 tie.
In a game that featured seven ties and 11 lead changes, the momentum continued to swing back and forth between the two teams until midway through the second half when Regis put together a 9-3 scoring run that featured consecutive layups from Jamir Harvey (Robbins, Ill.), a three-pointer from Brynda, and a jumper by Joshua Perez (Lynn, Mass.) that extended the Pride's lead to 68-60 with six minutes remaining in regulation.
The Stormy Petrels closed to within two points at 70-68 on back-to-back three-pointers by Dylan Pumpian and Uba Ezigbo, but the Pride answered right back with a layup by Wilkins and a three-pointer from Rau to increase the Regis lead back to six points at 75-69 with three minutes left in regulation. The home team closed to within one point thanks in part to a tip-in by Jackson Kemp and a layup from Ezigbo, but Oglethorpe hit just one free throw in six attempts down the stretch, allowing the Pride to hold on for the victory.
Robinson led Oglethorpe with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Ezigbo finished with 16 points, four rebounds, and four steals. The Stormy Petrels won the rebounding battle, 42-33, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to 20 second chance points, but they missed 11 free throw attempts in the game and committed 12 turnovers leading to 16 Regis points.
As a team, the Pride shot 52.6 percent (30-for-57) from the field, including 9-for-21 from behind the three-point line, and 71.4 percent (10-for-14) from the free throw line. It was Regis' best field goal and three-point field goal shooting performance of the season and the first time the team made over half of its field goal attempts since hitting 54.5 percent (30-for-55) of its shots from the field Feb. 11, 2023, against Albertus Magnus.
Regis College (4-7) opens 2024 with a non-conference home game against neighboring school Brandeis University Wednesday, Jan. 3, beginning at 2 p.m. at Higgins Court.