Men’s Basketball Loses to Johnson & Wales

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College lost to Johnson & Wales University, 60-56, Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Higgins Court.

Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) shot 8-of-16 from the field as he led the Pride with 18 points, while Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) hit four three-pointers to finish with 12 points. Shawn Wedderburn (Bronx, N.Y.) pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds, and Juvens Dalger (City of Sunrise, Fla.) contributed nine points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots.

With the score tied at 6-6, Johnson & Wales pulled ahead on baskets by Randall Ferdinand and Donovian Maxfield, and then the Wildcats scored seven unanswered points, starting with a three-pointer from Maxfield, to extend their lead to 19-10 midway through the first half.

Down by 11 after a three-pointer by Justin Bullock, Regis battled back, rattling off seven straight points of its own, capped by a jumper from Ademola, to pull within four at 26-22 with 5:08 left in the first half. After consecutive layups by Bullock and Brian Hogan-Gary, Rosa hit a three-pointer to cut the Wildcat lead to five at 32-27 heading into halftime.

The two teams exchanged points for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Regis put together a 10-2 scoring run, featuring another Rosa three-pointer as well as two free throws each from Afonja and Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), as the Pride took a 53-52 lead with 5:28 remaining in regulation.

Johnson & Wales (9-11, 4-2 GNAC) grabbed the lead for good with seven unanswered points on a three-pointer by Maxfield as well as baskets by Hogan-Gary and Ferdinand. Dalger hit a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game, but the Pride could not get any closer, missing a long distance shot on its final possession.

The starting lineup for the Wildcats scored all 60 points, led by Ferdinand with 18 points. Hogan-Gary finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and five steals, while Maxfield and Bullock scored 11 points apiece.

As a team, Johnson & Wales shot 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the field, including 4-of-9 from behind the three-point line. The Wildcats committed just nine turnovers while they scored 15 points off 17 Regis turnovers.

The Pride shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the field, including 6-of-19 from behind the three-point line, and 80 percent (8-of-10) from the free throw line. Regis finished with a slight rebounding edge, 41-40, plus the Pride blocked eight shots, including two blocks apiece by Wedderburn and Afonja.

Regis (8-12, 3-3 GNAC) heads to Albertus Magnus to face the Falcons Thursday, Jan. 31, starting at 7 p.m. The Pride host Rivier on Senior Day next Saturday, Feb. 2, for a 1 p.m. tipoff.