WAUKESHA, Wis. - Following a difficult loss on Friday evening, the Rockford University men's basketball team rebounded nicely with a convincing 88-68 win over Luther College. The Regents never trailed and dominated the entire game at both ends of the floor. Rockford shot a sizzling 52.3% from the field including an impressive 41.2% from 3-point range. Defensively, the Regents held the Norse to just 36.6% shooting from the floor and outrebounded Luther by six.
Rockford opened the game by connecting on six of their first seven shot attempts to build an early 14-8 lead. Senior point guard Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) scored 8 of those 14 points going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor including connecting on a pair of three-pointers. Rockford would continue to keep the pressure on Luther as the Regents quickly extended their lead to double-figures. The lead hovered around ten points until late in the half when senior guard John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.) scored the final five points of the first half giving Rockford a 51-36 advantage heading into halftime.
The Regents then used a barrage of baskets early in the second half to blow the game wide open. The trio of Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill.), John O'Bryan and Michael Murray (Princeton, Ill.) scored Rockford's first 18 points of the half as the Regents built a commanding 69-41 lead. Rockford's lead would continue to balloon until it reached a game-high 37 points at the 5:21 mark. Luther then went on to score the final 17 points as the Regents coasted to an easy 88-68 win.
Over the first three games of the season no one has played better than senior Michael Murray. Murray has recorded a double-double in all three of Rockford's games including a 25-point, 13-rebound performance on Saturday where he shot 10-of-13 (76.9%) from the floor. He also added 3 assists and 1 steal to round out his afternoon. During the two-day tournament Murray averaged 21.5 points, 12 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He was rewarded for his stellar weekend by being selected to the All-Tournament Team.
Fellow senior John O'Bryan had his best performance of the season on Saturday. O'Bryan poured in a season-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting including connecting on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. He also added 5 assists, 3 rebound and had 0 turnovers.
Forward Zach Wallace hit double-figures in scoring for the third time this season. Wallace tallied 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting while adding 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 assist.
Ross Arteaga also played well and did a great job getting his teammates involved. The senior scored 8 points, had a game-high 6 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds.
The RU men's basketball team returns to the court on Tuesday, November 24 at home against Loras College. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. in the Seaver Center.
