WESTON, Mass. – The Suffolk men's basketball team's six-game win streak came to a halt Tuesday night as the Rams fell to Regis, 63-59, in GNAC action at Higgins Court.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 59 | Regis 63
RECORDS: Suffolk (11-6, 2-1 GNAC) | Regis (8-11, 3-2 GNAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Regis commanded the majority of the first frame and put Suffolk in a double figure hole early on, 19-6. The Rams had to play catch up. Instead the teams traded hoops and the Pride maintained the 13-point distance, 25-12.
Brendan Mulson got the Rams going with a bucket from behind-the-arc that sparked a 9-2 stretch and brought the blue-and-gold within six, 27-21, at the 3:41 minute mark.
Regis responded with a run of its own, outscoring Suffolk, 6-2, to regain a 10-point margin, 33-23, with 1:43 to play before half time.
Suffolk cut things back down to six as William Rowe and Thomas Duffy converted on back-to-back lay-ups, but the Pride put away the last hoop of the first 20 minutes for the 35-27 halftime lead.
The Rams' game of catchup finally paid off as Duffy locked up the score at 42-42 less than five minutes into the second half. Jim Djema put Suffolk in front for the first time on the night with a trey at the 14:29 minute mark.
From there, the lead swapped four times with a layup from Steven DiPrizio with 3:52 remaining keeping the blue-and-gold in front, 55-54. Jordan Seldon evened the score at 55-all on the Pride's next possession.
A DiPrizio layup was followed by a free throw from Michael Hagopian that kept the three-point edge in Suffolk's favor. The one-possession margin was not big enough to keep the Pride at bay as the hosts cut things to one point with less than two minutes to go.
Suffolk hit a scoring lull missing buckets on their next pair of possessions and Regis took advantage to grab a 59-58 lead with 27 seconds to play.
Djema had a chance to win things at the 9-second mark, but his three-pointer was off the mark and Suffolk had to send Regis to the line to clinch the win.
Ademola Afonja took care of business at the business with six seconds on the clock and the 61-68 distance was too much ground for Duffy to make up when the junior was sent to the charity stripe three second later.
Duffy made the first, missed the second and in a last-ditch effort the Rams' fouled Devante Thompson in hopes to get the ball back. Thompson connected on the set of free throws for the final 63-59 margin.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Duffy was one of three Rams in double figures with 16 points on a 5-for-12 performance from the floor. He also led the way on the glass with 13 boards, 11 of which came on the defensive end, and added four assists, four steals and one block.
- Hagopian contributed 12 points on a 4-for-10 effort from the field and a 3-for-7 showing from three-point range to go along with four caroms, three dimes, one swat and one takeaway.
- DiPrizio completed the threesome in double digits with 10 points off a 4-for-9 effort from the floor. He chipped in six caroms to Suffolk's 40-rebound night.
NOTEWORTHY
- Duffy produced his first double-double of the season and third of his career.
- Duffy registered a personal-best 13 rebounds.
POST-GAME PIC
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is back at Regan Gymnasium Thursday, Jan. 24 when it meets Saint Joseph (Conn.). The Rams and Blue Jays will battle at 7 p.m. after the blue-and-gold's women's team faces Anna Maria at 5 p.m.