WESTON, Mass. – Junior Jeff Tagger Jr. (Brockton, Mass.) netted a career-high 27 points on 10-of-12 shots as Regis College pulled away late for a 74-63 victory over Mitchell College in a New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball matchup on Tuesday night. The Pride improve to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in the NECC, while Mitchell drops to 5-8 and 3-3 in league games.
In a back-and forth first half, neither team led by more than six in a period that had five lead changes. The Pride jumped out to an early lead, getting out on the fast break for a pair of layups before an Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) bucket made it a 7-2 game with 16:16 to play. A quick 6-0 spurt from Mitchell capped off by a Donovan McLean (Jersey City, N.J.) triple put the Mariners on top less than two minutes later.
The two teams traded baskets and Wyatt Springer (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) connected on a three of his own at the 10:57 mark to extend the Mariner lead to 15-11. A three point play from Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J.) made it a 22-17 advantage for the visitors, but Regis received back-to-back baskets from Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) and Jeff Tagger Jr. to cut the deficit to one with just over five minutes to play.
Springer staked Mitchell to their largest lead of the period with a three-ball from the corner at the 2:52 mark, and Tagger Jr. answered for the Pride with a three of his own on the next possession. A pair of Jaiwon Martin (Coral Springs, Fla.) freethrows made it a one point game, and Chris Keaton (Beverly, Mass.) knocked down a pair of his own a minute later to put the Pride back on top 30-29 with 1:14 remaining.
Tagger Jr. added a three point play to push the Pride lead to four, but a Darius Sealy (Cambridge, Mass.) freethrow followed by a Josh Maynard (Waterford, Conn.) tip-in left Regis with a 33-32 lead headed into the break.
Donovan McLean opened the second half with back-to-back triples to put Mitchell on top by five, and Tagger Jr. had the answer again with a running drive in the paint. Jaiwon Martin netted a layup to pull Regis within one, but Regis could not get a stop on the defensive end as a three point play from Joshua Ford gave Mitchell a 46-41 advantage with 14:46 remaining.
Regis continued to chip away and a reverse layup from Chris Keaton tied the game at 48-all. Ford and Jean-Gilles traded buckets and Tagger Jr. connected on a deep three to put the Pride back on top 53-50. Mitchell tied it following a pair of Ford freebies, and Parris Hill (Stockton, Calif.) later put Mitchell on top 55-53 with a basket.
As he had done all night, Tagger Jr. responded for Regis, nailing a corner three to take the lead back for Regis. He and Alan Morgan (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) traded layups to keep Regis on top by one, and Tagger Jr. netted a freethrow to make it a two point game at 59-57.
The Pride started to pull away, leading by six after a Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) bucket, but back-to-back layups by Ford kept it a one possession game and forced a Regis timeout with 3:58 to play with the Pride on top 63-61. The stoppage worked to the Pride's advantage as they ended the game on an 11-2 run, including a huge three from Jean-Gilles, to put away the Mariners and hang on for the vital conference win.
Regis won both the rebounding (37-34) and turnover battle (13-17) in the game, while shooting just a shade better from the field (45.9%) compared to Mitchell (45.5%). The Pride had their second-best freethrow percentage of the year, knocking down 14-of-18 (77.8%) freethrows on the night compared to an 8-for-15 (53.3%) showing from the visitors.
Beyond the game-high 27 points from Tagger Jr., he added three rebounds, a pair of assists and four steals. Sam Jean-Gilles joined him in double figures with 14 points and eight rebounds. Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) came off the bench to grab eight rebounds, including six offensive boards, and chipped in six points. Hector Heredia (Lawrence, Mass.) had five points, three rebounds, and a game-high seven assists for the Pride.
Joshua Ford posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists to lead Mitchell. Parris Hill added 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and four steals. Donovan McLean knocked down a trio of three-pointers en route to 14 points.
The Crimson and Gold return to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Southern Vermont College for a 3:00 p.m. matchup. Mitchell will host Wheelock College on Thursday night in a 6:00 p.m. game.