ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Rockford University men's basketball team traveled to Aurora University on Wednesday night as the Regents began a two-game road trip to conclude the regular season. Unfortunately Rockford struggled from the get go as the Spartans connected on 17 three-pointers and cruised to a 112-92 win. With the results of the other NACC games on Wednesday, Rockford will need to win on Saturday at MSOE in order to have a chance to secure a berth in the conference tournament.
The game was tight in the early moments of the first half before Aurora eventually began to pull away. Rockford's lone lead of the evening came less than 30 seconds into the game when senior Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to put the Regents in front by a 3-2 score. It remained a one-possession game over the next few minutes as Rockford trailed by just a single point following a layup from Michael Murray (Princeton, Ill.). Unfortunately Aurora responded with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to push its lead to double-digits for the first time at 24-13. The Regents were never really able to get back into the game for the remainder of the half as the Spartans continued to build upon their lead taking a 61-40 advantage into halftime. The second half did not go well for Rockford as again the Regents were never able to substantially cut into the deficit and ultimately fell by a 112-92 final.
Junior forward Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill.) was however able to provide a memorable moment early in the second half. With 19:40 remaining in the game, Wallace grabbed his 11th rebound of the day to give him 500 career rebounds. Wallace becomes just the 15th RU men's basketball player in the program's 61-year history to record 500 rebounds and is currently tied for 14th all-time with 503 total rebounds. He finished the game as both the team's leading scorer and rebounder with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Michael Murray, Ross Arteaga and Tony Diemer (Rockford, Ill.) were the other three Regents to crack double-figures in scoring. In his first game back on the floor in nearly a month, Murray recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Diemer added 13 points and 7 rebounds, while Arteaga tallied 10 points and 6 rebounds.
The RU men's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, February 20 in a must win game at MSOE. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the Kern Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
