WESTON, Mass. – Regis College improved to 11-7 overall and 6-3 in the New England Collegiate Conference with a 64-58 victory over Daniel Webster College on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles fall to 6-11 overall and 3-6 in league games with the setback.
Daniel Webster jumped out to an early 16-9 lead to open the game as Shawn Fenton (South River, N.J.) connected on a jumper at the 15:08 mark. The Eagles stretched their lead to 22-13 as Ryan Gauthier (Nashua, N.H.) buried a three minutes later. Hector Heredia (Lawrence, Mass.) answered for Regis with a three on the other end, and a Jeff Tagger Jr. (Brockton, Mass.) triple with 7:01 to play made it a 24-21 game.
DWC used a quick 5-0 run on another Gauthier bucket and a three from Khial Watson (Ann Arbor, Mich.) to build their lead back to eight, and it stayed that way at the 1:32 mark as Ray Farmer (Nashua, N.H.) scored on a screen and roll with Watson.
Regis responded by going on an 8-0 run over the final 92 seconds of the period, starting with a Jeff Tagger Jr. jumper and a three from Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) to pull even with the Eagles. In the final 10 seconds of the half, Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) slapped the ball away and then tipped it out to Tagger Jr., who fired from beyond half court, banking in the 60 foot heave as time expired to make it a 33-all game headed into the break.
Check out Tagger Jr.'s buzzer-beater by clicking here.
The Pride carried the momentum into the second half, extending their 8-0 run to a 13-0 run on a layup by Tagger Jr. and a three point play from Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) to extend their lead to 38-33. Jordan Monts pushed the Regis lead to 45-38 with a three and kept it a seven point game a minute later with a pair of freethrows. Leak Jr. gave Regis their largest lead of the game with 9:14 to play after grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds and laying it in for a 51-43 advantage with 9:14 to play.
Daniel Webster started to chip away as a three from Angelo Adon (Silver Spring, Md.) and a freethrow from Gauthier cut the Regis lead to four. After a Leak Jr. tip-in made it a six point game, DWC's Shawn Fenton rattled off a personal 6-0 run to tie the game at 53-all and force a Regis timeout.
Out of the break, Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) converted inside on a pretty feed from Sam Jean-Gilles to put Regis back on top, but a three in the corner from Michael Campbell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) gave the Eagles their first lead of the second half.
Jean-Gilles answered on the other end to put Regis back in front 57-56, and the Regis defense forced a pair of stops, with Monts going a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe on the following Pride possessions to give Regis a five point cushion at 61-56. Jeff Tagger Jr. would knock down 3-of-4 freethrows in the final 24 seconds of the game as Regis held on for the 64-58 win.
Daniel Webster won the battle on the boards, 36-11, but the Pride committed only eight turnovers while forcing 17 from DWC, leading to 24 points off turnovers. The Pride had their best freethrow percentage of the season, knocking down 14-of-15 freebies on the day. The Eagles converted 8-of-15 three pointers in the game, including a 6-for-9 showing in the opening half.
Jordan Monts led all scorers with 15 points, going 10-for-10 at the charity stripe. Jeff Tagger Jr. chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds, while Sam Jean-Gilles had an all-around game with six points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Chris Leak Jr. came off the bench to add 11 points and eight rebounds.
Daniel Webster was led by Shawn Fenton's 15 points. Ryan Gauthier just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Michael Campbell chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Ray Farmer nearly had a triple-double, posting seven points, eight rebounds, and nine assists.
The Crimson and Gold return to action on Tuesday night when they host Becker College in a 7:00 p.m. league game. Daniel Webster travels to Fisher College for a 1:00 p.m. game tomorrow afternoon.