ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Rockford University men's basketball team is moving on to the NACC semifinals after a stunning 75-72 win over the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons in overtime for Rockford's third win this season over CUW. The game was a back-and-forth affair that included 11 ties and 13 lead changes which ultimately pushed the game into overtime as well. The biggest difference in the game came from Rockford's ability to control the glass with a 46-27 advantage in rebounds and a huge 20-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. This led to the Regents being able to limit offensive possessions for the Falcons and create longer ones for themselves. Regents forward,
Micah Swanson also eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone during tonight's game. He reached this mark on a layup with 13 minutes and 52 seconds remaining in the first half, which makes him the 27th player in program history to reach this milestone. With the win over CUW, Rockford moves on to the next round and will travel to Milwaukee, Wis. for a showdown with the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors, in a semifinal game on Thursday, February 22 at 7 PM.
- Neither team got off to a great start, trading turnovers and shots, until the Falcons were able to grab a 4-0 advantage after 2 straight layups, but Rockford was able to battle back to a 6-6 score after a layup from Micah Swanson to also give himself his 1,000th career point.
- Each team traded blows, until Rockford was able to get a triple from Seth Childers and a layup from Kevin Diemer to grab a 15-11 lead with 9:46 left in the first half.
- The game remained a close battle, with 3 ties and 2 lead changes after this point, until Kevin Diemer was able to put Rockford ahead with a three-point play and Micah Swanson tacked on with a triple of his own, the first of his career, to make it a 27-22 game.
- The Falcons were able to go on a slight 8-3 run to end the first half and make it a 30-28 game after twenty minutes of play.
- CUW was quickly able to grab the lead from Rockford with a 15-4 run to open the half taking a 43-34 lead, the largest lead of the game, with 14:54 remaining in the half.
- The Regents were able to battle back in just 1 minute and 50 seconds of work, with a lightning quick 11-2 run, to tie the game up 45-45 in a stretch where Rockford was a perfect 3-3 from the field, 3-3 from the charity stripe and 2-2 from long distance, all led by Jaden Bell with six points.
- The game remained close, until CUW was able to grab a two possession, 53-49 lead with 6:13 left in the half, but Rockford quickly grabbed the lead back with another triple from Micah Swanson and a layup from Kevin Diemer to make it a 54-53 game.
- This game continued to be a close affair down to the wire, until the Falcons were able take a 64-61 lead with just 31 seconds left, but Kevin Diemer was able to deliver a game-tying three-pointer to equalize the game at 64-64 with just 19 seconds left and after a successful defensive stand, Rockford forced overtime.
- The Falcons were able to grab a slight 69-67 lead to begin overtime, but Kevin Diemer was able to come up clutch yet again with back-to-back triples to give Rockford the 73-69 lead with 1:27 left in the game.
- The Regents had their lead cut to just one after a triple from the Falcons, but Rockford was able to finish the job with a layup from Micah Swanson and two defensive stands to secure the 75-72 win and move on to the NACC Semifinals.
- Micah Swanson delivered a season-high 24 points, draining the first 2 three-pointers of his career, reached the 1,000-point milestone, also grabbed 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a season-high 5 blocks.
- Kevin Diemer poured in 22 points, which pushes him past Jeff Mosher for 7th most points in program history, he also grabbed his 6th double-double of the season with 11 rebounds and delivered 2 assists and 1 block as well.
- Jaden Bell put up 8 points and picked up a season-high 9 rebounds.
