Pride Men’s Hoop Prevails in Overtime Thriller

WESTON, Mass. - Regis College overcame a cold shooting first half to take the lead in the second half before Norwich University rallied to force overtime, but the Pride hit enough free throws and made enough stops in the extra session to defeat the Cadets, 82-79, Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) notched his seventh straight double-double, leading the Pride with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Jamir Harvey (Robbins, Ill.) and Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) finished with 16 points apiece, and Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) contributed 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Down 32-28 at halftime, Regis put together a 17-2 scoring run through the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second half, led by Rau and Harvey with six points apiece. Rau hit a three-pointer midway through the second half to give the Pride their largest lead of the night at 56-44, and then the teams traded points for the next minute-and-a-half.

The Cadets scored nine unanswered points, the final seven from Jalen Olivero, to pull within three points at 61-58. After a jumper by Wilkins, Omarion Jett and Olivero each made two free throws to close the Regis lead to one point at 65-64, and then Joe Joe DuBrul hit a three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining in regulation to put Norwich on top, 67-65.

On Regis' next possession, Rau was fouled and made both free throws to tie the game at 67-67, and a three-point attempt from DuBrul was off-target, sending the game into overtime. Olivero opened the scoring in the extra period with a three-pointer, but Harvey followed with a jumper and two made free throws to put the Pride back on top, 71-70.

Harvey would connect on a traditional three-point play as Regis eventually extended its lead to six points at 78-72 heading into the final minute of overtime. Charles Nogard hit a three-pointer to cut the Cadet deficit in half, and then, after an offensive rebound for Nogard, Olivero hit a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to bring Norwich back within one point at 80-79.

After two missed free throws by Regis, the Cadets had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds but missed a field goal attempt, and the Pride took advantage of a flagrant foul as Wilkins made both free throws with 3.5 seconds showing on the clock. On Regis' next possession, Nogard created a jump ball situation with the arrow pointing in the Cadets' direction, but with just 0.3 seconds left on the clock, Kohlby Murray's three-point attempt that went in was immediately waved off by the referees as Murray caught the ball before shooting it.

Olivero shot 8-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-5 from behind the three-point line, and 6-for-6 from the free throw line to lead all players with 26 points, while Jett finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and four steals. DuBrul and Donato Pakak contributed 11 points apiece, and Rodrick Pearson blocked four shots during the night.

In the first half, Norwich scored 11 unanswered points, the last seven coming from Pakak, to open an 18-5 advantage midway through the period. Regis fought back, eventually closing its deficit to four points at halftime thanks to a putback by Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.).

Norwich shot 36.2 percent (25-for-69) from the field, including 9-for-24 from behind the three-point line, and 80 percent (20-for-25) from the free throw line. The Pride shot 41.8 percent (28-for-67) from the field and 71.4 percent (20-for-28) from the charity stripe, plus they scored 21 points off 17 Norwich turnovers.

Regis College (8-8, 3-2 GNAC) heads to West Hartford, Conn., to face University of Saint Joseph Saturday, Jan. 20, starting at 3 p.m. Norwich University (10-6, 2-3 GNAC) hosts Dean College Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.