GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Rockford University men's basketball team dropped its first game of the season 76-68 on the road Friday night to the Calvin University Knights. Calvin is by far the most difficult opponent the Regents have played thus far this season, as the Knights were receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Preseason Poll and will most likely be ranked when the first poll of the regular season is released. The Regents fell behind 47-28 at the half, but battled all the way back to within two points midway through the second half and to within three points with 1:25 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, the Knights hit a three and made enough free throws over the final 85 seconds to hold off the Regents and escape with the win. Statistically, the game was pretty even in most areas. Rockford had a slight edge in made three-pointers (12-to-7), but Calvin led in made field goals (31-to-24). However, perhaps the difference in the game was Calvin's ability to get easy buckets in the paint, which resulted in a higher field goal percentage. The Knights led the Regents in both points in the paint (44-to-24) and field goal percentage (47.7%-to-39.3%).

• Charles Burnell opened the game with a triple to put the Regents out in front 3-0. 
• With the game now tied at 12 and 14 minutes remaining in the half, the Knights went on an 8-1 run over a span of 1:45 to take the largest lead at that point for either team. 
• Calvin would subsequently close the half on a 13-2 run over the final 2:56 and take a commanding 47-29 lead into the break. 
• Rockford came roaring out of the intermission on a 21-7 run to close the gap to just four points with 13:54 left. The Regents drained six of their seven three-point attempts over that span, led by two triples each from Zac Centers, Vincent Eugene and Kevin Diemer. 
• The Regents would eventually get back to within two at 57-55 off a Kevin Diemer layup at the 10:14 mark. 
• However, the Knights responded with a 6-0 run over the next 3:02 and extended their lead to 63-55. 
• With Calvin now leading 70-63 and just under four minutes remaining, Rockford scored five of the next six points to cut the deficit to just three with 1:25 left in regulation. Charles Burnell opened the run with a made layup and Vincent Eugene ended it with his third three-pointer of the night. 
• Following a Knight timeout, Calvin drained a triple of its own and then closed the game out at the free throw line for the 76-68 win.

• Kevin Diemer led the Regents with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also added 7 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist. 
• Vincent Eugene scored in double-figures for the second straight game. Eugene finished with 15 points and went a career-best 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. He also chipped in 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. 
• Micah Swanson finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal.
• Ashton Singleton added 9 points on 3-of-4 shooting, 2 rebounds and an assist off the bench. 

Read Full Article