RIVER FOREST, Ill. - After a 5-5 start to the 2013-13 season the Regents men's basketball team has struggled over the past month losing 6 straight including 4 consecutive Northern Athletics Conference games. Rockford was hoping to snap its recent skid when it hit the road on Thursday night to face the last place Concordia University Chicago Cougars. However, Rockford lost its seventh straight game despite a Herculean effort over the final five minutes of the second half.
The Regents got off to a fast start in the first half building a 14-4 lead over the first 7 minutes and 18 seconds into the game. Rockford's quick start was headed up by junior shooting guard Scott Suchy (Genoa, Ill./Genoa-Kingston). Suchy poured in 8 of the Regents first 10 points of the game. The two schools traded baskets over the next seven and a half minutes with Rockford still leading 26-18 when Concordia Chicago hit its stride and closed the half on a 10-0 run to enter the intermission up 28-26.
Rockford's struggles continued for much of the second half as the Regents quickly found themselves down 10 points with 14:52 remaining in the game. With all of the momentum at their back, the Cougars pushed their lead to a game-high 19 points with 5 minutes and 11 seconds left. That is when the Regents caught fire going on a 17-1 run to put themselves in a position to tie the game. It was again Scott Suchy leading the way with 8 points during the run. Senior guard Grant Olsen (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) hit a pair of jumpers racking up 5 points over the final five minutes, and junior David Dixon (Bellwood, Ill./St. Joseph) scored the other 4 points to make it a 66-63 deficit with 44 seconds remaining. Rockford had two separate looks at a game-tying three-pointer with under 10 seconds remaining but were unable to connect on either and lost their seventh straight game. With the loss the Regents are now 44-40 against the Cougars including a 4-6 record in NAC play.
Scott Suchy, Grant Olsen, and David Dixon all played well in Thursday's game. Suchy was the team's leading scorer with 19 points. He also added 4 steals, 3 rebounds and 1 assist to his totals. Olsen and Dixon each scored 16 points and shot a combined 13-25 from the field. Olson also grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and blocked one shot. Dixon blocked a team-high 3 shots, got 6 rebounds and 1 steal.
Despite the loss, the Regents are still holding onto the 8th and final spot in the NAC Tournament. With just few weeks remaining in the season, Rockford, with a 3-5 NAC record, still controls its own destiny as to whether or not it makes the conference tournament. The Regents will look to snap its recent skid on Saturday, January 19th when they head north into Wisconsin to face division leading Lakeland College. Tip-off is set for 4:15 p.m.
