SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - The Rockford University men's basketball team dropped its second straight game on Saturday 100-92 to the Lakeland College Muskies. This marks the second time this week that the Regents have surrendered at least 100 points and allowed their opponent to shoot over 52% from the floor. Rockford did do an excellent job however controlling the interior as the Regents held a commanding 59-32 advantage in points in the paint. However, it was the hot 3-point shooting of the Muskies and their ability to knock down free throws that proved to be the difference. Lakeland scored 26 more points from beyond the arc and 6 additional points at the free throw line.
Rockford got off to a bit of slow start as Lakeland led for much of the first half. The Regents were able to stay within 5 points until a Michael Murray (Princeton, Ill.) layup with 9:29 remaining in the opening half gave Rockford its first lead of the day at 18-17. The two schools would trade baskets over the next handful of minutes until Rockford ended the half on a 6-2 run in final 1:13 to take a 41-35 lead into the intermission.
The second half stayed fairly close as well despite the fact that both teams were able to put together runs and build their largest leads of the afternoon. Rockford would strike first putting together a 5-0 run led by a John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.) jumper and a Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) three-pointer to give the Regents their largest lead of the day at 64-57. However, the Muskies would answer right back with a 15-4 run of their own over the next three and a half minutes to retake the lead. The Regents continued to fight and battle until junior Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill.) eventually tied the game at 79-79 on a layup with exactly 5 minutes left. Unfortunately Lakeland promptly responded to take a 7-point lead thanks in large part to a 7-1 run. Wallace would keep the Regents in the game as he scored 9 straight points down the stretch as Rockford trailed by just 3 points with 25 seconds remaining. However the Muskies were able to knock down their free throws in the closing seconds en route to a 100-92 victory.
Zach Wallace was the Regents' leading scorer as he tallied 20 points despite playing just 15 minutes. Wallace connected on 7-of-11 shot attempts and went 6-for-9 at the free throw line while also adding 3 rebounds to his totals.
Michael Murray and John O'Bryan each had solid all-games for Rockford. Murray scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals. O'Bryan had 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting along with 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Tony Diemer (Rockford, Ill.) and Brandon Tyson (Joliet, Ill.) were the other two Regents to crack double-figures in scoring. Diemer finished with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 3 assists. Tyson led the Rockford bench with 12 points on an impressive 6-for-10 shooting performance and had 6 rebounds.
The RU men's basketball team returns to the court on Wednesday, January 20 at home against Concordia University Chicago. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Seaver Center.
