EUREKA, Ill. - The Rockford University men's basketball team fell 80-68 in its season opener on Saturday afternoon to the Eureka College Red Devils. The Regents shot just 37.7% from the floor and 26.1% from 3-point range compared 50% and 46.7% for the Red Devils. Rockford also turned the ball over 16 times leading to 18 Eureka points. One aspect of the game Rockford can be happy with was its ability to rebound the basketball. Despite giving up such a high shooting percentage, the Regents were still finished even on the boards (42-42) with the Red Devils. Rockford also grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and converted those into 18 second chance points.
The first half was tight until Eureka began to pull away about midway though. Junior Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) kept Rockford in the game early as he knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the opening minutes of the game. Despite Arteaga's hot hand, the Regents still trailed 15-14 with just under 12 minutes remaining. It was at that point that the Red Devils caught fire and went on a 12-2 run over the next 2 minutes and 50 seconds to take a 27-16 lead. Rockford was never really able to cut into the lead for the remainder of the half as Eureka took a 45-33 advantage into the intermission.
The second half did not go any better for Rockford as the Regents were never able to cut into the Red Devil lead. Eureka opened the second half on an 8-0 run to push its lead to 20 points with 18:35 remaining. The lead hovered around 20 until Rockford strung together an 11-2 run of its own to close back within 13. Junior Jerry Pratt (Minneapolis, Minn.) and sophomore Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill.) combined to score 9 of the 11 points cutting the deficit to 59-46. However, Eureka quickly extended its lead back to 20 and coasted to an 80-68 win.
Forward Jerry Pratt was very impressive in his Rockford University debut. Pratt scored a team-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting off the bench. The junior also grabbed 14 rebounds including 5 offensive rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
Rockford had four additional players hit the double-digit point mark on Saturday. Junior guard John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.) and Trae Blumhorst (Mendota, Ill.) each tallied 12 points. O'Bryan added 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal while Blumhorst recorded 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Ross Arteaga finished with 11 points and Zach Wallace poured in 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
The men's basketball team returns to the court on Tuesday, November 18 at Loras College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
