WESTON, Mass. – Jeff Tagger Jr. (Brockton, Mass.) chalked up nine points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Regis College men's basketball team snapped a four game losing streak with a 74-57 victory over New England Collegiate Conference opponent Lesley University Tuesday evening on Higgins Court. With the victory, the Pride jump to 5-12, 2-6 NECC and the setback drops the Lynx to 4-15, 3-7 NECC.
Tagger Jr. added two steals and two blocks to his stat line while three of his teammates scored in double figures. Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) tallied a team-high 13 points, freshman Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) and junior Sam-Jean Gilles (Melrose, Mass) both came off the bench to score 11 points apiece.
Regis shot well from the floor connecting on 48.3% (28-of-58) of their attempts while Lesley only could muster a 31.0% (18-of-58) shooting percentage. The Crimson and Gold also dominated the paint as they outscored the guests 34-18 in the lane. The Lynx also never led in this contest.
The hosts opened up the matchup fast as they tallied the first seven points of the game. Freshman guard Isaiah Wilson (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) drove the baseline for an easy bucket for the first points of the match. Senior captain Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) found fellow captain and teammate Jeff Tagger Jr. for a three ball the next trip down the floor after a Chris Barletta (Valrico, Fla.) turnover. Jawaun Lewis (Jacksonville, Fla.) extended the lead to 7-0 after he buried a jumper from the elbow before receiving a nifty pass from Tagger Jr.
The Lynx would respond by cutting the Pride lead to three points multiple times during the next 10 minutes of play. Junior guard Devon Mayo (Newport News, Va.) made two freebies with 13:15 to go which cut the deficit to three. Senior sharpshooter Chris Keaton (Beverly, Mass.) answered with a three-ball from the top of the point off a screen to put the Crimson and Gold back up two possession and on the next trip down the floor Mayo converted an old fashioned three-point play to bring the Regis advantage back down to three.
Both teams traded buckets over the next few minutes of play before Regis went on a 9-2 run over the final four minutes of the half to take a 10 point lead into halftime. The Pride's frontcourt pairing of Jean-Gilles and Leak Jr. provided all the offense during this run as Jean-Gilles had five points, three of them coming on an and1 and Leak Jr. added two buckets underneath for a 33-23 lead at halftime.
The second half was the same story, but Lesley threatened early. Pierre St. Simon (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and Chris Barletta each tallied layups to cut the Pride lead to six only a minute into the second stanza. Jeff Tagger Jr. would answer from beyond the arc with a three-pointer to put the hosts up nine, 36-27. Barletta went down the floor on the next possession and connected on a three of his own off a designed out of bounds play to bring the deficit back down to six. On their next offensive possession, Tagger Jr. would swing momentum back in Regis' favor as he rose up slowly and netted a bucket from deep to put Regis back up nine, 39-30 with 18:01 to go. The squads kept scoring on both ends before the hosts put the game away with a 14-1 run towards the end of the half.
Devon Mayo led all scorers with 19 points, but the stifling Pride defense held him to 4-of-21 (19.0%) from the field. Mayo knocked down two treys and converted 9-of-12 (75%) from the charity stripe. Chris Barletta added 15 points and two boards while Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) scored 10 points, dished out four assists and three corralled rebounds.
For the Pride, Jordan Monts tallied eight points, five rebounds, two assists while fellow starter Isaiah Wilson added eight points of his own with one rebound, one assist and a steal. Hector Heredia (Lawrence, Mass.) scored seven points off the bench and matched Tagger Jr. with a game-high five helpers.
Regis returns to the hardwood on Thursday when they travel to Wheelock for an 8:30 p.m. tip-off while Lesley travels to first place Southern Vermont on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.