WESTON, Mass. – Ryan Chambers scored 25 points and Osanto Marc added 21 of his own as Regis College defeated Mitchell College, 80-76, in double overtime of a New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball matchup on Tuesday night.
Regis improved to 7-10 overall and 4-4 in the NECC while Mitchell dropped to 5-10 overall and 3-6 in league play.
Ryan Chambers and Ahmad Charles knocked down all four of their free throw attempts in the final 15 seconds of the second overtime to secure the 80-76 win. The game saw the score tied 13 times with nine lead changes through the four periods.
Both teams traded baskets to begin the game before Mitchell took an 11-7 lead on a Paul Jefferson jumper with 13:15 remaining in the opening period. The Pride quickly tied the ball game at 11 on back-to-back baskets by Chambers and Marc, while Marc later gave the Pride an 18-15 lead just under three minutes later with a deep three. Jefferson took the lead back for the Mariners with a three-pointer that made it 28-25, but the Pride's LaQuinn Shuler and Chambers combined for the final eight points of the frame to take a 33-31 lead into the break.
Marc led all scorers at the half with 10 points while Shuler came off the bench to chip in six points and four rebounds. Joshua Ford had nine points and five rebounds to lead the Mariners.
Marc's layup 5:57 into the second half gave Regis its largest lead of the game at 43-36. Mitchell would cut the lead to one on a layup by Jeff Gomez and took its first lead of the second half, 48-47, on an Enoch Contreras layup with 9:52 remaining in regulation. The teams traded baskets and another pair of Marc layups gave Regis another four-point lead with 3:55 showing on the clock.
A Gomez layup followed by a pair of 1-for-2 showings at the free throw line by Gomez and Ford left the score tied at 56-all with just over two minutes to play. Charles' driving layup with 1:56 showing gave the Pride a two-point lead before Terrance Fisher knocked down a jumper to tie it back up. Following a Regis miss, Mitchell had two separate shots for the win as Alex Vess missed a jumper but Ford was there for the rebound. Ford dribbled out to the three-point line but his attempt was altered by LaQuinn Shuler and the shot missed its mark as time expired, leading to bonus basketball.
In the first OT, Chambers scored off of a nifty tip play for the first points of the extra frame. Contreras answered at the other end to knot it at 60-all before Chambers buried a jumper at the top of the key to take back the Regis lead. Contreras knocked down a pair of free throws on the ensuing Mitchell possession, but Chambers was not done as his triple from the top of the key stretched the Regis lead to 65-62 with 2:00 remaining.
Following a Ford steal, Contreras drove the lane and nailed a layup – while getting fouled on the play – to make it a one-point game. He then calmly buried the freebie, and on the next Regis possession, a bad pass was tipped away and stolen by Ford that gave the Mariners the ball with only 11 seconds remaining in the first OT. Following a timeout, Mitchell's final attempt to set up a play was thwarted by Robert Edwards as time expired to send it into the second overtime.
Regis never trailed in the final OT as a jumper by Chambers gave the Pride a five-point lead with 2:24 remaining. Following a basket and free throw from Contreras, Charles sunk a jumper inside the paint to stretch it back to a five-point lead. Jefferson banked in a three on the ensuing possession, but after a Mitchell timeout, Regis' Chambers and Charles buried all four free throws they were forced to take to hang on for the 80-76 league win.
Mitchell won the battle of the boards 34-33 but Regis converted 17 Mariner turnovers into 22 points. The Pride also dominated points in the paint (38-24) and also held an edge in fast break points (8-2).
Chambers led all scorers with 25 points despite a rough night shooting (9-of-20, 3-of-13 from three). Marc added 21 points to go along with three assists, while Edwards was the final Pride player in double-figures with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds and three blocks. Ethan Peana also added eight rebounds and Shuler had eight points and four rebounds.
Ford recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds to go along with four assists and four steals. Contreras added a season-high 20 points and a game-high six assists, while Gomez had a season-best 14 points and Fisher finished with 10 of his own in the setback.
Mitchell returns to action at home against Lesley University on Thursday, January 26 at 7 p.m.