Regis Drops to Emmanuel, 67-66

BOSTON –  Regis College stayed close but was ultimately defeated by Emmanuel College, 67-66, Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball game.

Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) led the Pride with 18 points, while Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) collected 10 points with five rebounds and two assists.

The Pride scored the first five points of the game, opening with a 5-0 lead before Emmanuel's Ryan Grijalva hit a three-pointer from Donte Pope. After a jump shot from Pope tied the game, both teams continued to battle before Rau made a jump shot clinching a 15-13 lead for the Pride. Regis remained on top for the remainder of the first half, leading 29-26 at halftime.

Latifi scored the first basket of the second half, followed by a jump shot and three-pointer to extend the lead by 11 points. After a defensive rebound from Pope created some offensive momentum for the Saints, Ryan Grijalva made a layup followed by a free throw to put the Saints in the lead 51-50.

After a free throw from Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) brought the Pride within one point of the Saints, the Pride could not hold on, as Cameron Snowden made a free throw extending the Saints lead by three. With less than a minute remaining, Evelyn made a three-point jump shot closing in on the Saints just short of one point for a final of 67-66.

Grijalva led the Saints with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Snowden finished with 16 points, while Pope had 12 points, 12 rebounds and one assist.

Regis (8-10, 3-4 GNAC) travel to face Lasell University on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 4:00 p.m. Emmanuel (8-10, 4-3 GNAC) is set to travel to Dean College for their next game starting at 3:00 p.m.