Pride Men’s Hoop Holds On for GNAC Win Over Suffolk

WESTON, Mass. – In a vastly different game from the non-conference contest between the two teams almost two weeks ago, Regis College clamped down defensively and scored enough points to defeat Suffolk University, 63-59, Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Jordan Seldon (Dorchester, Mass.) shot 7-of-12 from the field as he led the Pride with 16 points, plus he pulled down six rebounds and dished out three assists. After missing the previous two games due to injury, Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) came off the bench and finished with 12 points and six rebounds, Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) contributed eight points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) added six assists, four rebounds, and two steals.

Regis raced out to a 12-4 lead six minutes into the contest and then, after a jumper by Steven DiPrizio, scored six unanswered points, including a three-pointer by Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.), to extend its advantage to 21-6 midway through the first half. The Rams closed to within six later in the half on three-pointers by Thomas Duffy and Michael Hagopian, but another three-pointer by Rosa helped the Pride increase their lead back to 10 at 33-23.

Down 39-31 two minutes into the second half, the Rams put together an 11-3 scoring run to tie the game at 42-42. After a layup by Ademola, Jim Djema hit a three-pointer to give Suffolk its first lead of the night at 45-44, but the Pride quickly regained the lead on baskets by Trinidad and Milik Wallace (Hinesville, Ga.).

Suffolk (11-6, 2-1 GNAC) scored six unanswered points, featuring a three-pointer and a jumper by Hagopian, to pull ahead 51-48 with 8:15 remaining in the second half. Seldon hit consecutive jumpers to put the Pride back on top, and then he answered a jumper by Duffy with another basket with 4:53 left in regulation to give Regis a 54-53 advantage.

The Rams retook the lead on two layups by DiPrizio, followed by a made free throw by Hagopian to increase the advantage to 58-55 with 2:34 remaining in the half. After a missed shot by Regis, Rosa stole the ball on Suffolk's next possession and passed the ball to Seldon, who found Afonja for a fast break dunk that closed the Pride deficit to one at 58-57.

After a Regis timeout with 34 seconds left on the clock, Afonja hit a baseline jumper to put the Pride back on top, 59-58. Suffolk missed a three-pointer on its next possession, and Afonja and Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) each hit two free throw attempts in the final seconds to close out the game for the Pride.

Duffy led the Rams with a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds along with four assists and four steals. Hagopian ended up with 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists, and DiPrizio added 10 points and six rebounds.

As a team, Suffolk shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the field, including 8-of-26 from behind the three-point line, and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the free throw line. The Rams committed only 11 turnovers, but they could not take full advantage of Regis mistakes, scoring only nine points off 12 Pride turnovers.

The Pride shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the field, including 6-of-15 from behind the three-point line, and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the free throw line. Regis won the rebounding battle, 42-35.

Regis (8-11, 3-2 GNAC) concludes the three-game homestand against Johnson & Wales Saturday, Jan. 26, starting at 3 p.m. at Higgins Court. The Wildcats are also 8-11 overall and 3-2 within the conference after a 102-94 loss to Saint Joseph's College this past Saturday.