RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Rockford University men's basketball team used a stellar defensive performance Wednesday night to earn a 69-59 road win over the Concordia University Chicago Cougars. Rockford was in control for the entire game as the Regents trailed for a total of just 31 seconds when the Cougars held an early 1-0 lead. Defensively, the Regents held the Cougar offensive in check all night as Concordia Chicago shot just 30.7% from the field and 21.4% from the 3-point line. Rockford held an edge in nearly every statistically category including rebounding (52-46), points off turnovers (21-14), second chance points (19-12) and points in the paint (32-22).

The Regents set the tone early in the first half and put some distance between themselves and the Cougars. Juniors John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.), Kenny Parks (Mascoutah, Ill.) and Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) led Rockford on a 11-3 run to open the game forcing the Cougars to use a quick timeout. Rockford's lead hovered around 8 points for much of the half until the Regents used a late 9-0 run to push their advantage up to 14 points entering halftime.

The second half also got off to a great start for the Regents as Rockford extended its lead to a game-high 20 points less than 5 minutes in. Sophomore Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill.) scored 7 points during Rockford's 11-3 run to make it a 46-26 game. However, Concordia Chicago slowly chipped away at the lead until it was just a 5-point game with 5 minutes remaining. With the game on the line and seemingly all the momentum with the Cougars, junior John O'Bryan and sophomore Trae Blumhorst (Mendota, Ill.) connected on back-to-back 3-point plays to help hold off the Cougar charge. The Regents then sealed the win at the free throw line knocking down their final five attempts en route to a 69-59 victory. 

John O'Bryan led all scorers in the game with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting including going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. O'Bryan rounded out his evening with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. His 18 points were right at his season average of 18.4 points per game, which currently ranks him second in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. 

Zach Wallace had yet another impressive performance scoring 14 points on just 6-of-8 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds. It was the fourth double-double of the season for Wallace and his second in the team's last four games. 

Trae Blumhorst and Kenny Parks were the final two Regents to crack double-digits in scoring. Blumhorst tallied his first double-double of the year with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Parks scored 13 points, snagged 6 rebounds and had 1 steal. 

Michael Murray (Princeton, Ill.) scored all 7 of the Rockford's bench points along with getting 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal.

The men's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, January 24 at home against Lakeland College. Tip-off is set for 4:15 p.m. in the Seaver Center.