ROCKFORD, Ill. -- The Rockford University men's basketball team pulled off a close victory over the Benedictine University Eagles on Wednesday night.

Four Regents crossed the double-digit threshold in scoring, as Jaden Bell, Tre Miller, Kamren Hogan, and Cooper Jackson all poured in over 15 points. Bell led the way with 19 and also put up seven rebounds. Hogan paced the team in assists with six.

This game was close for a majority of the 40 minutes. There were 10 total lead changes and eight ties overall.

Neither team could take control early, as both teams went back and forth for much of the first seven minutes. The Eagles were able to take an 18-15 lead after a Noah Mason and-one dunk, and then gained some ground from there. They extended the lead to eight before a run of threes by Jackson, Bell, and Miller made it tight again.

Benedictine would go into the break with a 36-31 lead. Both teams shot the ball relatively well in the half, but the real offense was waiting for the second half.

Rockford came out hot, tying the score in the first minute of the half and taking the lead two minutes in. A barrage of layups off of strong drives was finally able to give the Regents the upper hand, going up five after six minutes.

The Regent lead stayed around five for a good portion of the second half. Rockford then fired off a 12-1 run with under five minutes to play and took a 73-61 lead.

It looked like the game was all but finished with under two minutes to play. Rockford was up 10 with 47 seconds left when Benedictine stuck their heels in the ground to make a serious push.

The Eagles grabbed a couple of steals, and Mason scored 12 points in the last 42 seconds to trim the deficit to two. Rockford then sealed it with free throws and walked away with an 83-79 victory. 

The Regents will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 31, in the Seaver Center when they host Lakeland University in the second game of a doubleheader.

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