WESTON, Mass. - Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) scored 33 points, the third most in Regis College men's basketball history, in the Pride's 70-63 victory over Lasell University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action Wednesday night at Higgins Court.
Rau led all scorers while managing to shoot 7-for-10 from three-point range, the most threes made in a single game since Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) went 7-for-10 against Johnson & Wales on February 17, 2022. Jamir Harvey (Robbins, Ill.) earned the double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) added nine points.
The first three Pride field goals of the game were three-pointers with Rau hitting a three early on, followed by a three by Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and a third by Rau to put the Pride up, 10-2, early in the first half. Shortly after, EJ Day hit a three for Lasers, and later in the game, Quinton Partee Jr. hit a layup to give the visitors a 15-14 lead halfway through the first.
Layups from Harvey, Latifi, and Tate Pike (Bellingham, Mass.) put the Pride back on top but a 13-4 scoring run for the Lasers closed out the half with Regis trailing by two (29-27).
Another three By Rau gave the Pride a 34-32 lead early in the second, one that Regis would hold onto for the remainder of the contest. A layup by Harvey and an additional three by Rau gave the Pride a ten-point advantage (41-31) which would end up as their largest lead of the game. Rau finished the half with 20 points, going 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-6 from three-point range to keep the visitors at bay and earn the win for Regis.
Regis shot 29-for-63 (46.0 percent) as a team compared to 24-for-69 (34.8 percent) for Lasell while also managing to outscore the visitors in the paint by a margin of 34-23.
Day led Lasell with 20 points while Partee Jr. earned the double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Demerrick Warren contributed 14 points while DaVon Bradley added eight.
Regis College (12-10, 8-7 GNAC) hosts Albertus Magnus for Senior Day on Saturday, February 11, beginning at 3:00 p.m. Lasell hosts Norwich on the same day, tip-off at 4:00 p.m.