ROCKFORD, Ill.- The Rockford University men's basketball team faced off against the Marian University Sabres Saturday afternoon at the Seaver Center. It was the first game for interim head coach Andrew Weber. For much of the first half the Regents and the Sabres battled back-and-forth with neither team gaining much ground. The two teams would play to a 36 tie. Like the weather outside, the Regents offense was frigid in the second half, making only 4-of-23 second half shots en route to a 70-46 loss. 

Rockford got on the scoreboard first with a pair of free throws by Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill.) on the first possession of the game. The lead was traded back-and-forth, with Marian holding it from the 16:14 mark to the 12:43 mark. John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.) hit a pair of free throws to tie the game up at 9. Nicolas Ramos (Litchfield, Ariz.) made a jump shot a short time later to give Rockford the lead, only for Marian to take it right back. But Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) made a jump shot to once again retake the lead for the Regents.

The lead changed multiple times over the rest of the half. Rockford twice had leads of four, once after layups by Arteaga and Trae Blumhorst (Mendota, Ill.), and another time after two made free throws by Brandon Tyson (Joliet, Ill.). The Sabres fought back to go ahead 36-34 with 13 seconds left in the half. Blumhorst followed a missed three-point shot with a game tying tip in as the first half buzzer sounded.

Nothing seemed to go right for Rockford in the second half. Despite holding Marian to shooting 39% from the field in the second half, Rockford could not get things going on the offensive side of the court and quickly fell behind to drop the game 70-46. The lone bright spot for the Regents was Wallace, who finished with ten points and ten rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

Rockford continues its season on January 13 when they travel to Benedictine for a 7:00 p.m. game start. The Regents next home game is at 4:15 on January 17 against Concordia Wisconsin.