BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Regis College men's basketball team suffered a 53-49 setback at the hands of Newbury College on Thursday night in NECC action in Brookline, Mass. The Pride drops to 9-13 overall and 6-7 in the NECC, while the Nighthawks improve to 9-14 and 6-8 in league games. Ahmad Charles (Cambridge, Mass.) scored 11 points to lead the Pride.
Regis trailed only once in the opening half at 8-6 when Newbury's Steve Rosemond buried a layup at the 13:49 mark. Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) then hit back-to-back layups to give the Pride a lead they would not relinquish as Regis led by as many as seven in the opening period. Ahmad Charles' layup with 22 seconds remaining gave the Pride a 24-19 advantage headed into the half.
Ryan Chambers' (Abington, Mass.) triple at the 16:14 mark gave Regis an eight point lead, but Owen Cameron answered with a three-pointer of his own to cut the deficit back down to five. Not to be outdone, Chambers pushed the Pride lead back to eight on the ensuing possession to take a 34-26 lead.
Robert Edwards (Memphis, Tenn.) hit one of two free throws to make it a five point game before Newbury went on a 15-2 run to take a 49-41 lead with just over three minutes to play in regulation. Mike McCloskey's (Winter Springs, Fla.) three-ball followed by a pair of layups by Charles and Jonathon Josselin (Medford, Mass.) made it a three point game with only 16 seconds remaining.
Forced to foul, Regis put Newbury's Tim Young on the line to try and keep it a one possession game. Young stepped to the line and buried both freebies to make it a two possession game at 53-48. Ahmad Charles would only hit one of two freethrows on the ensuing Pride possession and Newbury would hang on for the 53-49 win.
Ahmad Charles led the Pride with 11 points and a pair of assists. Jonathon Josselin and Ethan Peana came off the bench to add eight points apiece with Peana adding a team-high 12 rebounds. Ryan Chambers knocked down three triples for all nine of his points.
Regis returns to action on Saturday afternoon when the Pride travels to Elms College for a 2:00 p.m. NECC game.