NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Regis College battled throughout the night, but Albertus Magnus College put together a couple key scoring runs to prevail, 79-67, Tuesday night in a quarterfinal game of the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Tournament at the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.
Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) shot 8-for-12 from the field, including 5-for-7 from behind the three-point line, as he led the Pride with 24 points and nine rebounds. Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) scored 10 points, and Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) contributed six points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
The teams battled throughout the first half as the momentum went back and forth on several occasions. Down 20-16 midway through the half, Regis pulled ahead thanks to consecutive three-pointers from Rau, but Albertus Magnus answered with 10 straight points over the next three minutes, capped by a layup from Deivone Tanksley.
Rau hit another three-pointer to stop the Falcon run, and then Evelyn converted a layup to bring the Pride within three points at 30-27. Albertus Magnus put together a 7-2 scoring run to increase its lead back to eight points before Wilkins hit a layup on Regis' final possession of the half to close the Pride deficit to six points at halftime, 37-31.
After Justice Washington opened the scoring in the second half with a dunk, Evelyn made two free throws and then fed Jamir Harvey (Robbins, Ill.) for a layup to bring the Pride within four points. The two teams traded points for the next eight minutes before the Falcons started to pull away with six straight points, starting with a traditional three-point play from Washington.
As the game moved into the final five minutes, Albertus Magnus put together a 7-2 scoring run, beginning with a three-pointer from Antonio Bonilla and capped by a steal and layup from Tanksley. Rau made two free throws and a three-pointer to bring the Pride back within seven points at 67-60, but the Falcons scored 10 unanswered points, starting with another three-point play from Washington, to put the game away.
Washington went 9-for-12 from the field as he notched a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Bonilla finished with 19 points and Tazhon Daniels collected 18 points as he went 11-for-12 from the free throw line. As a team, Albertus Magnus shot 40.3 percent (27-for-67) from the field and 72.4 percent (21-for-29) from the free throw line, plus it scored 27 points off 25 Regis turnovers.
The Pride shot 47.2 percent (25-for-53) from the field and 68.8 percent (11-for-16) from the free throw line, plus they finished with a slight rebounding edge, 34-32. However, the Falcons scored 18 second chance points thanks to 14 offensive boards while Regis pulled down nine offensive rebounds resulting in 10 second chance points.
Regis College concludes the 2023-24 season with a 14-13 overall record. Over the past three weeks, the Pride won six of eight games, with the only losses coming at the hands of Albertus Magnus, who moves on to the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament against Saint Joseph's College of Maine Thursday night.