ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Regents men's basketball team improved to 5-2 on Saturday afternoon following an impressive 95-81 victory over the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors. Saturday's win was truly a team effort as Rockford had six players crack double-digits in scoring and had a total of nine players make a basket. The Regents were on fire for much of the afternoon as Rockford shot 52.9% (36-of-68) from the floor and 47.6% (10-of-21) from three-point range. One of the deciding factors in the game was the strength of the Rockford bench as the Regents outscored the Warriors 35-16 in bench points.
Rockford overcame a difficult first half that was littered with fouls. The Regents were whistled for an astounding 17 fouls in the opening 20 minutes, which was as many or more fouls than in three of Rockford's first six games this season. Despite all of the foul trouble, Rockford only trailed for a total of 1 minute and 41 seconds in the half with the largest deficit at just two points. Senior guard John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.) took over the game scoring 22 first half points and leading a late charge that put the Regents in front for good. Rockford closed the half on a 23-11 run that included five made 3-point baskets. Freshman Ben Temrowski (Rochester, Mich.) and senior Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) each drained a pair of three-pointers down the stretch to help propel Rockford to a 52-42 halftime lead.
The game was never really in doubt in the second half as Rockford continued to extend its lead. Wisconsin Lutheran was only able to get as close as 7 points before the Regents essentially put the game away with a 15-3 run to take a 71-52 advantage. Five different Regents contributed to Rockford's 15-3 run as O'Bryan again led the way with 5 points. A few minutes later, freshman Tony Diemer (Rockford, Ill.) connected on a layup to give Rockford a 28 point lead, its largest lead of the afternoon. With the game well in hand, Rockford was able put it on cruise control over the final eight minutes en route to a 96-81 win.
Senior guard John O'Bryan led the Rockford offense with a season-high 27 points. He connected on 10-of-18 shot attempts including knocking down 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. O'Bryan also had a career-high 7 assists along with 3 rebounds and 1 steal.
The freshman duo of Ben Temrowski and Tony Diemer led the charge off the Rockford bench. Temrowski drained all five of his three-point attempts as he scored a career-high 15 points. He was just one made three-point basket away from tying the RU single game record for three-point shooting percentage (1.000%, 6-of-6). Diemer had yet another strong performance with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
Ross Arteaga, Michael Murray (Princeton, Ill.) and Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill.) were the final three Regents to hit double-figures. Arteaga scored 10 points with a game-high 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Murray added 10 points with 5 rebounds, while Wallace scored 11 points with 4 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The RU men's basketball team returns to the court on Wednesday, December 9 at home against Concordia University Wisconsin. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Seaver Center.
