WESTON, Mass. - Regis College used a hot-shooting first half, especially from behind the three-point line, on its way to an 88-61 victory over Dean College Monday afternoon in a first round game of the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Tournament at Higgins Court.
Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) led the Pride with a career-high 22 points as he missed just one field goal attempt in nine chances, making five three-pointers along the way. Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) became Regis' all-time assists leader as he finished with 14 points and six assists, while Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) broke the school record for career rebounds as he notched his 17th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Pride scored the first seven points of the game and then, after a three-pointer by AJ Weston and a jumper from Charles Walker, put together a 23-3 scoring run over a nine-minute span, including five made three-pointers. Regis would eventually take a 43-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Latifi opened the second half with a three-pointer as Regis rattled off a 12-2 scoring run through the first three minutes to increase its advantage to the largest of the game at 32 points (55-23). The Bulldogs were unable to reduce their deficit any lower than 20 points as the Pride cruised to the victory, ending Dean's season with a 9-17 record.
Weston, the leading scorer in the GNAC entering the game, led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Moussa Berete finished with 12 points and Walker contributed 10 points. As a team, Dean shot just 33.3 percent (22-for-66) from the field and 68.8 percent (11-for-16) from the free throw line.
Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) made a significant contribution to the first half run with 10 points and nine rebounds, and Jamir Harvey (Robbins, Ill.) finished with nine points and eight rebounds. As a team, the Pride shot 49.2 percent (31-for-63) from the field, including 12-for-27 from behind the three-point line, and 82.4 percent (14-for-17) from the free throw line.
Regis College (14-12) heads to New Haven, Conn., to face Albertus Magnus College in a quarterfinal game of the 2024 GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament Tuesday, Feb. 20, beginning at 7:30 p.m.