BOSTON, Mass. – Regis College lost to Suffolk University, 84-58, Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball game at Smith Court.
Despite the loss, Regis was able to clinch the final spot in next week's GNAC Tournament, as the Pride, tied with Colby-Sawyer and Johnson & Wales for eighth place in the league standings, receives the eighth seed based on its victories over the Wildcats Jan. 11 and the Chargers last Tuesday. The Pride will travel to West Hartford, Conn., to face top seed University of Saint Joseph Tuesday, Feb. 25, with a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) led the Pride with 11 points as he hit three three-pointers, as did Demitri Barbosa (Taunton, Mass.) late in the game to finish with a season-high 10 points. Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) collected eight points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocked shots as he broke the Regis single-season rebounding record, finishing the game with 222 rebounds so far this year, two more than the 220 boards Chris Leak Jr. pulled down in the 2016-2017 season.
The first five made baskets, three from Suffolk and two from Regis, were three-pointers, but the Rams were able to eventually take the early advantage, 16-10, on Jonathan Eng's third long distance basket within the first five minutes. Suffolk increased its lead into double digits at 26-14 thanks to eight unanswered points, led by Nate Hale with three made free throws and his own three-pointer.
The Rams continued to pull away, closing the first half on a 19-7 scoring stretch over the final nine minutes, led by William Rowe with seven points. Rowe scored four more points in the first four minutes of the second half as Suffolk put together a 9-1 scoring run after halftime for a 54-24 advantage, and then a 15-4 scoring run gave the Rams their largest lead of the game at 71-30 as the home team cruised to its fifth win in its last seven games.
Hale was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line as he led the Rams with 17 points in just 13 minutes of action. Eng hit four three-pointers to finish with 14 points, Rowe shot 6-of-7 from the field as he scored 13 points, Cameron Powers collected 11 points, three rebounds, four assists, and three steals, and Thomas Duffy added 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
As a team, Suffolk shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the field, including 12-of-24 from behind the three-point line, and 80 percent (12-of-15) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Regis shot just 31.8 percent (21-of-66) from the field, including 8-of-24 from behind the three-point line, and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free throw line.
Regis College (8-17, 4-7 GNAC) hosted University of St. Joseph two weeks ago, sticking with the Blue Jays for a while before USJ pulled away for a 91-73 victory. The semifinals of the GNAC Tournament will take place Thursday, Feb. 27, followed by the championship game Saturday, Feb. 29.