Regis Pulls Off Late Comeback Against MBB

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's basketball team dropped a 58-54 decision to Regis College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference play at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Regis (5-13 overall, 5-4 NECC) outscored Mitchell 18-4 over the final 6:08 to erase a 10-point deficit and claim the victory. Carlos Bermudez-Glean led all scorers with 15 points and added four rebounds and three steals to pace the Pride. Ryan Chambers also finished in double digits with 13 points.

Junior Anthony Epps led Mitchell (8-9 overall, 4-5 NECC) with 14 points while classmates Joshua Ford and Alex Del Rio added 11 and 10, respectively. Ford grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to secure his 10th double-double of the season and also handed out seven assists.

Neither team led by more than six points in the first half. The Pride went up 18-12 on a dunk by Evin Matted with 11:46 to play, but the Mariners scored 11 of the next 14 points to vault ahead by two. A jumper by Del Rio put Mitchell in front for the final five minutes of the half, and the home team led 31-27 at the break. Epps led all scorers with 10 points at intermission.

Ford scored the first two buckets of the second half and found sophomore Michael Pellegrini for an easy lay-in as the Mariners quickly pumped the lead to double figures. Mitchell's lead hovered around eight for most of the half, and Regis looked to be in trouble when leading scorer Osanto Marc went to the bench with his fourth foul with his team trailing 46-38 with 9:42 remaining.

The Mariners matched their biggest lead when Del Rio dropped in a lay-up to make it 50-40 with 7:01 to go. However, the Pride answered with 10 straight points over a 3:07 stretch to claw back into the game. A lay-up and foul from Matted trimmed the deficit to five, and Chambers followed with a three to cut the margin to two. Matted finally pulled Regis even at 50-50 with a lay-in with 3:01 to play.

Sophomore Trace Lanson buried a jumper on the following possession to put Mitchell back in front, but Marc, who subbed back in for the final 4:47, made an aggressive drive to the rim to tie it back up.

The Pride took their first lead of the half on a pair of free throws by Bermudez-Glean with 2:02 to play, but the Mariners tied the game once again on the following possession. Epps slashed into the paint and dished off to Pellegrini for an easy bucket that tied the score at 54-54 with 69 seconds to go.

On the ensuing possession, Regis went down low to Ahmad Charles for the go-ahead score with 37 ticks left on the clock. After calling timeout, Mitchell went for the lead on a three by Del Rio but came up short. The Pride nabbed the critical rebound, and Chambers was fouled with six seconds left. He drilled both freebies to seal the win.

Marc finished with eight points and seven rebounds while Matted had nine points and seven boards. The Pride shot 41 percent from the floor and went 10-for-15 from the free throw line.

Mitchell shot 40 percent but hit only 1-for-13 from downtown. The Mariners also went to the free throw line only six times.

Mitchell will next host Becker College on Tuesday, January 29 at 6 p.m.