ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Regents men's basketball team (9-4) won its first ever NACC South Division Tournament Title on Saturday with trilling a 97-91 win over rival Aurora University (7-4). It wasn't easy, but the Regents stuck together and overcame multiple double-digit deficits throughout the game, to secure the victory and advance to the NACC Tournament Championship Game at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday, March 6 at 6 PM. Brandon Emerick had a career-day for the Regents, scoring 34 points and draining 9 three-pointers, which is just one off both the school record (Taylor Stinson) and the NACC Tournament record (Austin Stueck, MSOE). Kevin Diemer tallied his seventh double-double in the last eight games, including his fourth straight, with 20 points and 13 rebounds. As a team, the Regents tied the NACC Tournament record set earlier in the week, with 26 assists. 

• The game got off to a rocky start as Aurora jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead just over three minutes in. 
• Following a timeout, Rockford used a barrage of threes on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to just three points. Brandon Emerick hit a pair of triples to bookend the run and Nick Phillips drained the other.
• However, the Spartans were able to put together a 9-2 run of their own over the next 1:11 to push the lead back to double-figures at 25-15.
• Aurora's lead stayed around seven points until the Regents caught fire over the last 6:30 of the first half. 
• The Regents used an 11-3 run over a 2:13 span, capped off by a Nick Phillips triple to give Rockford its first lead of the game at 37-36. 
• Rockford and Aurora traded buckets over the next few minutes, with the score now tied at the 2:05 mark.
• Fortunately, the Regents closed the half on a 9-0 run to take a 53-44 lead into the break. Brandon Emerick scored six of the nine points, including making three free throws with 0.6 seconds left in the half and Kevin Diemer scored the other three.
• The Regents shot the lights out in the first half, going 19-of-34 (57.6%) from the floor and 7-of-16 (43.8%) from three point range. Rockford also dominated on the glass, outrebounding Aurora 18-9.
• The second half got started with a bang, as Kevin Diemer laid the ball in the basket on Rockford's opening possession to give his team a game-high 11-point lead. 
• Unfortunately, much like in the first half, Aurora once again seemed to make almost every shot it took. The Spartans made five of their next six shots as a part of a 14-3 run to tie the game at 58-58. 
• The Spartans would then take their first lead of the second half on a Shamar Pumphrey layup at the 15:39 mark. 
• The two teams went back-and-forth over the next several minutes, until Aurora was eventually able to build its lead back up to as many as eight points with 11:35 remaining. 
• However, Rockford again caught fire from the floor going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including 3-of-3 from long range, to retake the lead at 81-80. Brandon Emerick led the charge with six points, while De'Marius Bonds drained the final three-pointer to cap off the 11-2 run. 
• With the game now tied at 83-83, Rockford scored the next six points to take an 89-83 lead with 5:20 remaining. Three different Regents scored over that span, led by three points from Kevin Diemer. 
• Rockford continued to hold a 6-point lead with 1:22 left in regulation when the Spartans made one final push.
• Rashad Johnson connected a three to make it a one-possession game with 70 seconds remaining. 
• Following a Rockford turnover and a timeout, Vincent Eugene came up with one of the biggest defensive plays of the game. Eugene was able to force a jump ball situation when he tied up the Aurora player, which gave the ball back to the Regents on the alternating possession arrow. 
• Kevin Diemer then delivered the preverbal dagger on a layup with 20 seconds remaining to make it a 5-point game. 
• De'Marius Bonds added one final free throw to give Rockford a 97-91 win and the NACC South Division Tournament Title. 

• Brandon Emerick scored a career-high 34 points and hit a career-high 9 three-pointers. Emerick shot 60% from the floor, 64.3% from three-point distance and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. He also tied his career-high with 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block. 
• Kevin Diemer tallied his fourth straight double-double and his seventh in the last eight games. Diemer finished with 20 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He is now just two rebounds away from 500 for his career.
• Vincent Eugene came in and played 28 solid minutes off the bench. Eugene had 12 points, including going 8-of-9 at the free throw line, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
• De'Marius Bonds finished with an excellent all-around performance. He had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
• Micah Swanson scored 11 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the floor and a 1-for-1 effort at the free throw line. He also had 2 rebounds and 1 assist.  

The Rockford University men's basketball team will now head to Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday, March 13 to face the Warriors for the NACC Tournament Championship. Tip-off between the Regents and Warriors is set for 6 PM.