WESTON, Mass. – The Regis (Mass.) men's basketball team started strong against league's top team but saw its first-half lead slip away in a 78-64 loss to Becker College in New England Collegiate Conference action Tuesday at Higgins Court. The Pride drop to 3-8 in the NECC and 6-14 overall while the Hawks 13-5 and 9-0 in league play.
Jaiwon Martin (Coral Springs, Fla.) and Chris Leak, Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) carried the scoring load for the Pride who fell by only four points at Becker just over two weeks ago. Martin finished with 22 points, 18 coming from beyond arc, with Leak, Jr. posting a double double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Four Becker starters scored in double figures led by Kareem Davis's (Lowell, Mass.) 26 points on a near perfect 9-10 from the foul line. Samuel Durodola (Rosedale, N.Y.) added 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Pride got off to a great start when Isaiah Wilson's (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) layup capped an 11-2 run to open the game. Martin was hot early, scoring three straight buckets for the Pride including a three pointer as part of the early spurt. Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) later nailed a three pointer to extend the lead to 10 points and the Pride were off and running.
Regis led by as many as 12 before Becker reeled off 16 straight points to quickly turn the tide. Kyle Credle's (Queens, N.Y.) jumper with 3:39 to play in the first half put the Hawks up 25-21 lead as Becker entered the break with a five-point lead.
The second half saw Becker slowly distance itself and lead by as many as 22 points. The Pride would not go quietly though. Back-to-back Martin three pointers got the lead under 20 points then another Martin three ball shaved the lead to 69-58 with 3:22 to play. The Pride would have to play the foul game down the stretch however as Becker made its shots from the foul line to win going away.
The Pride now begin a three-game road trip when they visit Mitchell for a 7:00 p.m. tip on Thursday, Feb. 2. Becker next plays host to Elms on Thursday as well with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff time.
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