ROCKFORD, Ill. - After a difficult one month stretch that saw Rockford lose eight consecutive games including five games by five points or fewer, the men's basketball team finally broke through on Wednesday night against the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors. Despite finding themselves down by 9 points late in the second half, the Regents battled back against the Warriors eventually taking the lead and then going into overtime. Rockford completely controlled the overtime period outscoring Wisconsin Lutheran 14-5 for the 73-64 victory. One key to the victory Wednesday night was Rockford's ability to get to the free throw line and knock down its free throws. The guys were an impressive 20-23 from the charity stripe compared to only 11-12 for Wisconsin Lutheran.
It was a tight first half throughout with Rockford taking a 22-16 lead, the largest lead for either team during the half, at the 5:26 mark. Neither team shot the ball very well as the Regents went 11-29 from the floor and the Warriors connected on 10-29 shooting. Junior David Dixon (Bellwood, Ill./St. Joseph) and senior Grant Olsen (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) combined to score 15 of the team's 25 first half points. Dixon scored 8 points on 4-5 shooting while Olsen scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting. The Regents came up with 6 steals in the first half giving them a critical 9-1 advantage in points off of turnovers. This helped Rockford to combat Wisconsin Lutheran's 9-3 edge in bench scoring.
The second half did not start off well for the Regents as the Warriors took the lead early in the half and built upon that lead for the majority of the second half. With Wisconsin Lutheran holding a 9-point lead and just 8:09 remaining in the second half, Rockford went on a 13-2 run over the next 5 minutes and 31 seconds to grab a 2-point lead. The Regents scored eight of their thirteen points at the free throw line with senior Sam Chones (Milwaukee, Wis./Riverside) making all four of his free throw attempts during Rockford's run. The final three and half minutes went back and forth with neither team able to put the game away. However, it appeared as though Rockford had finally snapped its 8-game losing streak when David Dixon snagged on offensive round and subsequently nailed a jumper with 4 seconds remaining putting Rockford up by two. Those hopes of a win in regulation were quickly erased as Wisconsin Lutheran sent the game into overtime hitting a jumper of its own at the end of regulation.
Despite failing to close out the final few seconds of regulation, Rockford completely controlled the overtime period. The Regents never trailed in overtime and were a perfect 4-4 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line. The 73-64 win improves Rockford's record in the Northern Athletics Conference to 4-6 and moves the team into 3rd place in its division.
David Dixon turned in probably the best performance of any Regent so far this season. Dixon set game-highs in both points and rebounds scoring 30 points with 15 rebounds. The junior was an impressive 12-16 from the floor and 6-7 at the free throw line. His 30 points ties an individual game-high for any Regent so far this season and his 15 rebounds was the most by a Regent in a single game. Dixon also added 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot to his totals.
Seniors Grant Olsen and Sam Chones were the other two Regents to crack double-figures in scoring. Olsen scored 11 points on 5-9 shooting while grabbing 4 rebounds, recording 2 steals and blocking 1 shot. Chones again provided a much needed boost of the bench scoring 12 points and getting 5 rebounds. It is the second straight game Chones has scored in double-digits off the bench for Rockford.
The men's team will look to keep its momentum going on Saturday, January 26th when the guys hosts the Maranatha Baptist Bible College Crusaders. The Regents are 8-1 against the Crusaders all time including a 72-65 win last season in Watertown, Wis. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. at the Seaver Center.
