ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Regents men's basketball bounced back nicely on Saturday with an impressive 80-70 win at Marian University. The game was much closer than what the final score might indicate as the Regents fought through some first half adversity. Rockford was down by as many as 15 points in the opening half but was able to slowly chip away at the deficit and ultimately retake the lead for good less than five minutes into the second half. The two teams had nearly identical statistics in every category except rebounding, where the Regents crushed the Sabres on the boards outrebounding them 51-34.
The first half was very tight early on as neither team was initially able to pull away. In the opening 12 minutes and 20 seconds there were five lead changes with the largest lead for either team being just 4 points. However, over the two plus minutes the Sabres went on a 14-0 run to take a 33-18 lead, their largest of the day. Fortunately Rockford was not phased as the Regents closed the half on a 13-4 run where they missed just two shots from the floor to get back within 6 points. Four different Regents scored during the run including 5 points from Michael Murray (Princeton, Ill.) and 4 points from John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.).
The second half belonged to the Regents as they were in control nearly the entire way. Less than five into the half Rockford was able to retake the lead thanks to some hot shooting and stellar defense. Freshman Tony Diemer (Rockford, Ill.) got his team off to the fast start as he drained Rockford's first two shot attempts of the half. Senior Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) then kept the momentum going as he poured in six points as Rockford opened with an 18-4 to take a 49-41 lead. Over the next 10 minutes Marian slowly chipped away at the Rockford lead until the Sabres had pulled within a single point at 66-65. However, the Regents would not be denied as they scored the next 7 points and once again closed the half strong with a 14-5 run en route to an 80-70 win.
Senior Michael Murray continues to play some of the best basketball in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Murray poured a game-high 25 points on a solid 9-of-15 shooting. The senior also added 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Through Rockford's first nine games, Murray is fourth in the NACC in scoring (22.1), second in rebounding (10.2), second in field goal percentage (65.4%) and tied for third in three-point field goal percentage (50.0%).
Fellow senior John O'Bryan also had another solid effort on the court. O'Bryan tallied 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Brandon Tyson (Joliet, Ill.) and Ross Arteaga both played well in the win. Tyson gave Rockford a huge lift of the bench with season-highs in both points and rebounds. Tyson scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting while grabbing 8 rebounds, blocking 2 shots and recording one steal. Arteaga had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
The RU men's basketball team returns to the court next Saturday, December 19 at Wisconsin Lutheran College. The Regents and Warriors are set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m.
