LISLE, Ill. - The Rockford University men's basketball team (7-3, 6-1 NACC) clinched its first ever NACC regular season title on Friday night with a 73-66 road win against the Benedictine University Eagles (8-3, 5-2 NACC). The win gives the Regents at least a share of the NACC South Division Championship and assures that Rockford will host an opening round game in next week's conference tournament. Rockford controlled the game almost from the onset, leading for nearly 36 minutes. The Regents shot 53.7% from the floor, including an amazing 62.5% from three-point range. Defensively, Rockford held the Eagles to just 32.9% shooting, including a measly 27.3% from long range. Rockford also outrebounded Benedictine 43-39 and held a 36-28 edge on points in the paint. 

• Benedictine scored the first points of the evening and led for the majority of the opening few minutes of the game. 
• With the Eagles holding an 8-5 advantage, the Regents used a 9-0 run to retake the lead and never trailed for the remainder of the game. De'Marius Bonds bookended the run with five points and Micah Swanson hit back-to-back layups for four points.
• The Eagles were able to get back within two at 16-14, before Rockford exploded with a 16-2 spurt to take its largest lead of the day at 32-16. The Regents hit 6-of-12 shot attempts and went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to jump in front by 16 points. Ashton Singleton and Brandon Emerick got things started with back-to-back triples. Nick Phillips also had a three, while Kevin Diemer, Micah Swanson and De'Marius Bonds each chipped in two points. 
• Benedictine would not go down without a fight though, as the Eagles closed the half on a 13-2 run of their own and pulled back within five, at 34-29 heading into the break.
• The Eagles continued to build upon their momentum in the opening moments of the second half. Benedictine scored on its first trip down the court and made it just a one-possession game at 34-31. 
• However, Rockford once again had an answer just as the Eagles seemed to be closing in. The Regents used a quick 7-0 run over a span of just one minute and four seconds to push its lead back to double-digits. Ashton Singleton hit a triple to get things started, and Kevin Diemer scored the final four points for the Regents. 
• Benedictine was able to get as close as four points on a few occasions in the second half, including at the 10:13 mark. 
• Fortunately, Rockford was once again up to the challenge. The Regents hit a three-pointer on three straight trips down the floor during a 9-2 run, to make it a 64-53 game. Ashton Singleton hit two of the triples, with Brandon Emerick connecting on the third. 
• With Rockford still leading by 11 and only 5:27 remaining, Benedictine made one final push down the stretch. The Eagles went on a 10-2 run over the next 2:49 and made it a 70-66 game with 2:38 left. 
• However, senior Kivontay Shaw served up the proverbial dagger, with a big three-pointer with just over a minute remaining to put Rockford up by seven.
• Rockford held Benedictine scoreless for the remainder of the game, to secure the 73-66 victory and at least a share of the 2020-21 NACC South Division Championship.

• Kevin Diemer recorded his fourth double-double in the last five games. Diemer led all scorers with 18 points on 80% shooting, had a game-high 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block.
• Ashton Singleton scored 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. He also added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. 
• De'Marius Bonds added 11 points off a 5-for-7 shooting performance. He also had 3 rebounds and 1 assist. 
• Micah Swanson tallied 10 points and 6 rebounds. 
• Nick Phillips finished with 9 points and 3 rebounds. 
• Brandon Emerick had 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Emerick's 3 steals now puts him in a tie for the Rockford University career steals record with 185. 

The Rockford University men's basketball team will try to clinch the outright NACC South Division Title and the number one seed in its half of the conference tournament on Saturday, February 27 at 5 PM at Benedictine University. If the Regents win, they will be the top seed in the south division and host Concordia Chicago on Wednesday. If Rockford should lose, it will host either Aurora University or Concordia Chicago on Wednesday.