WESTON, Mass. – Regis College came up just short in a game that needed three overtimes, falling to Elms College, 92-90, on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action in Weston, Mass. The Pride fall to 8-6 overall and 3-2 in the NECC, while the Blazers have won three-straight games to move to 6-7 overall and a perfect 5-0 in league games.
Regis and Elms traded blows in the opening minutes of the game until a Jeff Tagger Jr. (Brockton, Mass.) jumper put the Pride on top, 15-11. Jumpers from Hector Heredia (Lawrence, Mass.) and Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) a few minutes later would stake the Pride to their largest lead of the half at 19-12 with 10:56 to play.
The Blazers started to chip away and cut it to 24-23 following a Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) layup on the fastbreak. Buchanon gave Elms their first lead of the contest at the 2:58 mark with a pair of freethrows. Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) pushed the Elms lead to 27-24 with a jumper, and Tagger Jr. answered for the Pride to keep it a one point game.
Trailing by four headed into the final minute, Jeff Tagger Jr. knocked down a jumper with eight seconds remaining to make it a 31-29 game. Elms inbounded quickly and Simpson raced up the floor, getting off a shot at the top of the key that went through the net right before the horn.
Tagger Jr. and Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) led the Pride with 10 points apiece at the break. Kenny Lockett led Elms with 10 points of his own, while Simpson added eight, and Buchanon had seven points.
Heredia and Tim Putnam (Brockton, Mass.) traded triples to open the second half and Regis tied the game at 36-all on a Jean-Gilles jumper with 18:24 to play in the period. Elms answered with a quick 6-0 run on baskets by Kenny Lockett, Jerry Buchanon, and Piere Simpson to force a Regis timeout. Out of the break, Jean-Gilles went on a personal 5-0 run of his own to pull the Pride back within one point at 42-41.
The teams traded baskets until a Jaiwon Martin (Coral Springs, Fla.) layup at the 10:34 mark gave Regis a 45-44 lead. A three from Jordan Monts put the Pride on top 49-46 three minutes later, but Elms pulled ahead at the charity stripe as Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) and Buchanon had perfect trips to the line to climb back on top, 50-49.
Piere Simpson gave Elms a 55-52 lead with 3:16 to play, and Regis got back within one on freethrows by Tagger Jr. and Peana. Lockett answered with a jumper to take a 57-54 edge, but Peana converted a three point play on a great feed from Jean-Gilles to tie the game at 57-all with 1:16 to play. Jean-Gilles and Buchanon each had chances for their respective teams in the closing minute, but neither could convert, as the game spilled into overtime.
Lockett opened the scoring in the first overtime, and Jean-Gilles answered for the Pride with a pair of freethrows to keep it a 59-59 game. Joshua Brunson (Springfield, Mass.) knocked down a pair of freebies for Elms, and Sirvaughn Hobdy (Atlanta, Ga.) gave the Blazers a four point cushion with an offensive rebound and put back.
On the ensuing Regis possession, Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) converted 1-of-2 freethrows to make it a three point game. On Leak Jr.'s miss, the Pride were awarded the ball after it went out of bounds off an Elms player, leading to a Jeff Tagger Jr. layup that cut the lead to 63-62. Regis got a stop on the other end, and Tagger Jr. drew a foul, knocking down 1-of-2 freethrows to tie the game at 63-all. Elms had two looks at the game winner, but Buchanon was off the mark on both as the game went to a second OT.
After a relatively quiet first overtime, the two teams combined for 32 points in the second overtime. Back-to-back triples from Chris Keaton (Beverly, Mass.) staked Regis to a four point lead with 2:38 to play in the period, and Tagger Jr. hit another two freethrows to keep it a 75-71 game with 28 seconds to play. Brunson and Monts traded trips to the charity stripe before Jerry Buchanon knocked down a three to cut the deficit to one.
Monts was fouled again and calmly stepped to the line and knocked down a pair to make it a 79-76 game with seven seconds remaining. Elms worked the ball to Buchanon who fired up a three with two defenders in his face and buried the triple with two seconds remaining to tie the game. Tagger Jr.'s halfcourt heave was offline and the game went to a third overtime with the score tied 79-79.
Lockett and Keaton traded three-balls to open the third OT, and Buchanon hit another from up top to put Elms on top 85-82. Monts went 1-for-2 at the freethrow line on the next Regis possession, and after a Regis stop, Heredia knocked down a three in the corner to put the Pride on top 86-85. Piere Simpson stole the lead back for Elms with a layup, but Jaiwon Martin answered on the other end to keep Regis on top, 88-87.
Buchanon hit a tough jumper to put Elms back in front, and Tagger Jr. connected on a pair of freethrows the next time down for Regis to make it a 90-89 game. On the Blazers' next trip, Tim Putnam corralled an offensive rebound and hit Brunson for a quick layup to give the lead back to Elms. Regis came up empty on their next possession and was forced to foul as Brunson hit 1-of-2 and the Blazers clung to a 92-90 lead with 12 seconds remaining.
Regis worked the ball inside to Jean-Gilles, who turned to shoot on Brunson, but was sent away by the sophomore center. Jean-Gilles got his own rebound and went up again, but Brunson blocked him again, this time sending the ball out to center court and allowing time to run off the clock and give Elms a hard-fought 92-90 win.
Both teams finished with 44 rebounds on the day, while Elms committed only 11 turnovers to 18 for the Pride. Regis shot well from the field, going 28-of-62 (45.2%) from the floor, but were only able to muster a 25-for-37 (67.6%) showing at the freethrow line.
Jeff Tagger Jr. and Sam Jean-Gilles each finished with 20 points, while Jean-Gilles led the Pride with eight rebounds and six assists. Ethan Peana joined them in double-figures with 11 points, with Monts adding 10 of his own. Hector Heredia posted eight points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Jerry Buchanon led Elms with 27 points and seven rebounds, and Kenny Lockett added a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds. Piere Simpson added 18 points and nine assists to go with five rebounds.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday night as Regis welcomes Mitchell College to Weston for a 7:00 p.m. game. Elms looks to stay perfect in NECC play when they host Newbury College at 6:00 p.m.