RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Rockford University men's basketball team has spent nearly the entire early portion of the season on the road with four of its first six games away from the Seaver Center including all three of the team's Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference games. The Regents latest road test came on Tuesday night against the Dominican University Stars.
Rockford once again had to overcome a sluggish start to the first half. The Regents scored just six points in the first five and a half minutes of the half giving the Stars their largest lead of the game at 11-6. However, Rockford would then find its offensive groove going on a 13-4 run over the next five minutes capped off by a David Dixon (Bellwood, Ill./St. Joseph) three-point play to take a 19-15 lead. The two school then traded baskets for the remainder of the half before freshman Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill./Belvidere) connected on a last second layup to give Rockford a 36-33 advantage heading into the half.
The Regents controlled the second half of the game leading for the entire 20 minutes. Senior guard Scott Suchy (Genoa, Ill./Genoa-Kingston) gave Rockford its largest lead of the night on a layup at the 17:54 mark to make it a 44-35 Regent lead. However, the Regents were never quite able to put the Stars away until the final moments of the game. With a six-point lead and 45 seconds remaining, four Regents combined to knock down five free throws and seal the 83-79 win.
The Regents had a trio of starters score in double-figures on Tuesday night. David Dixon again led the charge scoring a team-high 19 points. Dixon also led Rockford with 9 rebounds while adding 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Scott Suchy finished with an impressive 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting. Suchy also grabbed 3 rebounds and had 2 assists. Senior Tory Minnifield (Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower) was the third Regent to hit the double-digit scoring mark. Minnifield scored 10 points with 5 rebounds and 1 assist.
Despite not having anyone off the bench score in double-digits, they were ultimately the difference in the game for Rockford. The Regents bench players outscored the Stars 33-12. Zach Wallace was the leading scorer off the bench with 8 points and 4 rebounds. Phil Andrade (South Chicago Heights, Ill./Bloom Trail) and John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky./Madison Central) also played well scoring 7 points each.
The men's basketball team will play at home on Thursday, December 5th against rival Aurora University. Tip-off between the Regents and Spartans is at 7:00 p.m. in the Seaver Center.
