Pride Men’s Hoop Thankful for Last-Second Victory Before Holiday

WESTON, Mass. - In a back-and-forth contest that saw six ties and seven lead changes, senior Devante Thompson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) hit a driving layup in the final seconds to give Regis College a 78-76 victory over Framingham State University Tuesday night in a non-conference men's collegiate basketball game at Higgins Court.

Thompson led the Pride with a season-high 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, while Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) shot 7-for-12 from the field as he scored 17 points. Joshua Perez (Lynn, Mass.) finished with 14 points, a team-high six rebounds, and three assists, and Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) contributed 11 points, four assists, and two steals.

After trailing by six points early in the second half, Regis put together a 10-2 run to pull ahead 51-47, punctuated by a steal and fast break dunk from Thompson seven minutes into the half. Baskets by Jaleen Carroll and Jahden Erold allowed the Rams to tie the game at 51-51, but layups by Rau and Thompson put the home team back on top midway through the half.

Two made free throws from Perez established Regis' largest lead of the night at 71-62 with 4:42 left in the second half, but Julius Goines converted a traditional three-point play and then hit a three-pointer to close the Ram deficit to three at 73-70. Joshua-Daniel Okafor and Carroll hit two free throws apiece to tie the game at 74-74 with 49 seconds remaining in regulation, but Rau hit a jumper on the Pride's next possession to put Regis back on top.

Framingham State overcame a miscue the next time it had the ball, receiving a technical foul for calling a timeout it did not have. Regis missed the free throw, and Okafor converted on a layup off an assist by Aveon Woods to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining. The Pride quickly pushed the ball down the court, and Thompson drove from the left wing towards the basket, converting the game-winning layup.

Goines shot 10-for-15 from the field as he led all players with 25 points, but he was unavailable in the final minute after fouling out. Okafor finished with 16 points and five rebounds, and Erold contributed 10 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Rams.

As a team, the Rams shot 52.8 percent (28-for-53) from the field, including 60 percent (24-for-40) from inside the three-point line, but just 64 percent (16-for-25) from the free throw line. Framingham State controlled the boards, outrebounding the Pride 36-21, but the Rams committed 17 turnovers, leading to 20 Regis points.

After shooting just 38.7 percent (12-for-31) from the field in the first half, the Pride hit 71.4 percent (20-for-28) of their second half field goal attempts, missing just two attempts (16-for-18) for two-point baskets. For the game, Regis finished at 54.2 percent (32-for-59) field goal shooting and 57.1 percent (8-for-14) free throw shooting.

Led by six points from Goines, the Rams took a 10-4 lead five minutes into the game, but the Pride battled back, eventually taking their own four-point lead. Framingham State rattled off 11 unanswered points over a two-and-a-half-minute span on its way to a 34-30 halftime advantage.

Regis College (3-2) hosts Lesley University next Tuesday, Nov. 29, starting at 6 p.m., with the GNAC and regional award recipients from the Pride fall sports being recognized at halftime. Framingham State (2-4) faces Tufts in the Black Coaches Classic at UMass Boston Saturday, Nov. 26, beginning at 5 p.m.