WESTON, Mass. – Evin Matted (Hartford, Conn.) recorded his first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Regis College to a 74-69 victory over visiting Mitchell College on Tuesday night in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action. The Pride grab their first win of the year to move to 1-11 and 1-2 in the NECC, while Mitchell falls to 5-5 and 1-1 in league play.
Regis and Mitchell traded baskets through the first five minutes of play before a freethrow from Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) and a jumper from Matted gave the Pride a 9-5 advantage. Mitchell's Anthony Epps (Norwalk, Conn.) and Chambers traded three-balls to keep the Regis lead at five, but back-to-back baskets by Trace Lanson (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Alberto Durogene (Coral Springs, Fla.) made it a 12-12 game with 11:28 to play.
Epps gave Mitchell a short-lived 15-12 lead as the Pride answered with a pair of freethrows from Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) and an Osanto Marc (Kissimmee, Fla.) layup on a nice feed from Carlos Bermudez-Glean (Boston, Mass.) to put the Pride back on top, 16-15. Epps took the lead back for Mitchell at 18-17 on an and-one layup, but Regis responded with an 11-0 run, including three straight threes by Marc, Bermudez-Glean, and Chambers that prompted a Mitchell timeout. The Mariners chipped away at the deficit over the final four minutes, ending the half on a 16-5 run to trail the Pride 35-34 at the break.
Marc and Chambers led the Pride with nine points apiece with Bermudez-Glean chipped in seven of his own, while Evin Matted grabbed seven rebounds. Mitchell was paced by 12 points from Anthony Epps, while Alex Del Rio (New Britain, Conn.) and Hector Aleman (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) chipped in five points apiece. Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J.) added four points and six rebounds.
The Pride opened the second half with a quick 6-0 spurt on freethrows from Ahmad Charles (Cambridge, Mass.) and Chambers, who also added a three in the run to make it 41-34. Matted converted on a spinning layup under the basket to make it 43-36 and a Charles fastbreak layup made it 45-36, leading to a Mitchell timeout with 17:56 to play. The Mariners slowly cut into the deficit and a Joshua Ford triple with 15:28 to play made it a one point game. After Bermudez-Glean and Epps traded hoops, Ford converted on a deep two that gave Mitchell a 50-49 lead.
Following an Ahmad Charles basket, Ford and Hector Aleman scored three-straight buckets to make it a 56-51 game and force a Regis timeout. The Pride cut it to 56-55 on an Ethan Peana fastbreak layup before Mitchell slowly stretched its lead back out to 64-57 on a fastbreak layup by Devonta Mosley (Gainsville, Fla.) with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.
Matted answered with a jump hook in the lane and an Osanto Marc layup made it a three point game with 5:30 to play, but Anthony Epps responded with a deep three from the corner to put the Mariners back on top by six. After a series of turnovers by both teams, Marc and Bermudez-Glean hit back-to-back jumpers to make it a two point game, but Bermudez-Glean could not convert on the freethrow keeping the score at 67-65.
Following a five-second call on the Mariners, Evin Matted was fouled in the post and calmly stepped to the line to knock down two freethrows and tie the game at 67-all. Devonta Mosley hit a running jumper to put Mitchell back on top, but Marc answered with an 18-footer from the elbow to tie it back up with only 37 seconds remaining. On the next Mariner possession, Ahmad Charles stole a pass and hit Bermudez-Glean with an outlet pass to start the break. The freshman missed the contested layup, but as he had done all night, Matted cleaned up the offensive glass and sunk the putback while getting fouled on the play to give Regis a 71-69 lead. Matted would bury the freethrow to put the Pride up by three.
After a Mitchell timeout near halfcourt to set up a play, Carlos Bermudez-Glean tipped away the inbounds pass to Matted who dribbled up the floor and forced Mitchell to foul him again. The sophomore hit both freebies to make it a 74-69 advantage and then turned away Mitchell's last second attempt at a three to seal the five point win.
Regis lost the battle on the boards, 35-33, but won the turnover battle with only 13 missteps to Mitchell's 18, which the Pride turned into 19 points. Regis did a lot of its damage at the charity stripe, going 19-for-23 at the line, compared to 8-for-10 for the Mariners.
Osanto Marc led the Pride with 17 points and also added six rebounds and two assists. Ryan Chambers knocked down four three-pointers en route to 14 points, while Carlos Bermudez-Glean scored 11 points and added four assists and three steals.
Mitchell had four players reach double-figures as well including Anthony Epps' 19 points while also converting on four three-balls. Joshua Ford added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Del Rio and Devonta Mosley added 10 points apiece.
The Crimson and Gold return to action on Thursday night when they travel to Southern Vermont College for an NECC contest at 8:00 p.m. Mitchell hosts Elms College in a league game on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.