ROCKFORD, Ill.- Saturday afternoon the Rockford University men's basketball team opened up conference play at the Seaver Center. Traveling to Rockford was the MSOE Raiders, who came in with a record 1-3 record. Despite the Raiders record, it would be a tough match-up for the Regents. MSOE was voted to finish second in the NACC. Rockford held strong in the first half and a late rally in the second half gave the Regents a chance to win the game.
The Regents were able to get out to an early 11-7 lead thanks to a three-pointer by John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.). O'Bryan would hit four three-pointers on the day and finish with a game high 27 points. Over the next five minutes MSOE slowly ate away at Rockford's lead. Kenny Parks (Mascoutah, Ill.) made a layup at the 12:33 mark to put Rockford up 17-14. The Raiders then hit a three-pointer on their next possession to tie it up. That would be the last time the Regents had a lead in the first half.
Rockford and MSOE battled back-and-forth for the rest of the half, with the Raiders lead swaying between three and six points throughout the half. A three-pointer by O'Bryan with four seconds left in the first half brought the score to 35-33 in favor of MSOE.
After MSOE made a basket on the first possession of the second half, it was again O'Bryan striking back with another three-pointer. Rockford and MSOE traded baskets until the 16:29 mark when Parks hit a three-pointer to tie the game up at 41. A minute later, Trae Blumhorst (Mendota, Ill.) made a layup to put the Regents up 43-42. Rockford and MSOE would again go back-and-forth, before MSOE started to pull away with about ten minutes left in the game. The Raiders lead got to as much as 12 at the 6:45 mark before Rockford stormed back.
From the 6:45 mark until the 4:01 mark the Regents went on a 9-2 thanks to a couple of baskets and a free throw from O'Bryan and a basket a piece from Blumhorst and Brandon Tyson (Joliet, Ill.). After a three-pointer from MSOE, Tyson would take over the game.
Over the course of two minutes Tyson scored five points and put the score at 73-70 in favor of MSOE with 1:28 left in the game. A layup by Jerry Pratt (Minneapolis, Minn.) brought Rockford within one with 39 seconds left in the game. MSOE hit two free throws to go ahead by three with 16 seconds left in the game. Rockford passed the ball to O'Bryan in the corner but heavy defense forced up an early three-point shot that was off the mark. The Raiders then hit a free throw to close out the game with the 76-72 victory.
Joining O'Bryan in double-digit scoring was Blumhorst and Parks with ten and Pratt with 12. O'Bryan also recovered four rebounds and had two assists. Pratt was a force off the bench with nine rebounds. Rockford shot 36.7% from the field, 46.2% from behind the line, and an outstanding 88% from the free point line on 22-of-25 attempts.
Rockford continues its season on December 2 when Dominican travels to the Seaver Center to face the Regents at 7:00 p.m.
