RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Regents men's basketball team got itself a much needed win yesterday in its 2012-13 Northern Athletics Conference season opener. Going into last night's game, the Regents have had recent success against the Dominican University Stars winning five of the last six meetings including four straight.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle that saw seven lead changes. Dominican had its largest lead of the first half at the 13:36 mark when it led by eight points. Rockford came storming back and cut the lead to just a single point less than 90 seconds later. The Regents recaptured the lead with just under nine minutes remaining when senior Sam Chones (Milwaukee, Wis./Riverside) made a layup giving Rockford an 18-17 advantage. The team would maintain the lead for the remainder of the half and take a 33-31 advantage into halftime.
The second half quickly saw the Stars erase the two point halftime deficit and build its lead up to a game-high 12 points with around nine minutes remaining. It was at that point that the group of seniors led by Grant Olsen (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) went on a 17-5 run to tie the game at 62. Olson scored 8 of the 17 points and would later connect on a jumper to give the Regents the lead for good with 1:17 remaining in the second half. Rockford held off the Stars over the final 70 seconds for a 72-20 victory.
Rockford got 92 percent of its scoring from four of its starters on Tuesday. Grant Olsen tied for the game-high with 18 points and had a game-best 7 rebounds. Olsen also had three steals in the game. Junior Scott Suchy (Genoa, Ill./Genoa-Kingston) also poured in 18 points for the Regents while adding a game-high 4 steals, 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Sam Chones had a season-high 16 points on 7-10 shooting including going 2-4 from beyond the arc. Chones also grabbed 3 rebounds, had 1 assist, 1 steal and had Rockford's only blocked shot of the evening. Senior Taylor Dixon (Rockford, Ill./Lutheran) scored a season-best 14 points on 6-10 shooting and 1-1 on three-point attempts. Dixon also added 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a team-high 4 assists.
The Regents had one of their best all-around games of the season Tuesday. The team shot 53.7% from the floor including 50% from three-point range and 83.3% from the free throw line. Rockford outrebounded the Stars 28-26 while forcing 14 turnovers and coming up with 10 steals.
After a week off, the men's basketball team will hit the court on Wednesday, December 5th at home against the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors. Rockford is 2-8 against Wisconsin Lutheran since joining the NAC but has won two straight in the series. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Seaver Center.
