WESTON, Mass. – Led by a career-high 18 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks from Evin Matted (Hartford, Conn.), Regis College defeated Southern Vermont College, 80-51, on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball action.
Matted went an efficient 6-for-8 from the field and 6-for-9 from the free throw line en route to 18 points. He also registered three of the Pride's seven blocks in the game.
Southern Vermont's Evan Thompson (Rossford, Ohio) scored the first basket of the day for the Mountaineers, but the Pride would respond with an 11-2 run over the next four-plus minutes to take an 11-4 lead with 14:45 to play.
SVC sophomore Tarvaris Jenkins (Chicago, Ill.) ended the Pride run, but Matted converted a three-point play off a feed from Carlos Bermudez-Glean (Boston, Mass.) to stake the Pride to an eight-point advantage.
Jenkins scored on the next SVC possession and following a Pride turnover, he buried a deep three-pointer, making it a 14-11 ballgame. With its lead cut to one possession, the Pride turned up the defense and went on another run, this time a 15-4 stretch that put Regis on top, 29-15. Mountaineer senior captain Taeshon Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) cut the lead to 12 with a tough jumper in the paint, but Regis quickly pushed its lead to 18 in the final minutes.
In the closing seconds of the period, Osanto Marc (Kissimmee, Fla.) raced up the court to try and beat the clock with a layup. Marc grabbed his own miss and his putback ricocheted off the back of the rim, where Matted was there to slam home a dunk as time expired and gave the Pride a 41-21 lead headed into halftime.
Marc led all scorers at the half with 12 points, while Matted added 11 and five rebounds. Ahmad Charles (Cambridge, Mass.) chipped in seven points and four steals in the opening stanza. Jenkins led SVC with seven points in the first, with sophomore captain Jermaine Campbell (Bridgeport, Conn.) adding four points and six rebounds.
Johnson opened the second half with a made jumper to make it an 18-point game, but a Charles basket two minutes later gave Regis the 46-23 advantage. Tyler Hess (Southwick, Mass.) nailed a three with 16:26 to play to cut the lead back under 20, but Charles put the Pride up for good as he corralled a Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) missed layup and slammed a one-handed putback dunk to put Regis on top 55-30 and force a Mountaineer timeout.
The Regis lead never dipped below 22 points and grew to as many as 32 as RC took the 80-51 victory.
Southern Vermont was led by 14 points, seven rebounds, and two steals from Johnson, while Campbell just missed out on a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds. Jenkins added nine points, while CJ Hagler (Chicago, Ill.) and Hess added five points apiece off the bench.
The Pride shot an efficient 49.2% (32-of-65) from the field and outscored SVC 52-18 in the paint. Regis won the rebounding battle, 41-33, and forced 25 Mountaineer turnovers - on 18 steals - for 29 points.
Along with Matted's 18 points, Ahmad Charles scored 14 points in the game to go with five rebounds and four steals. Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) added four steals of his own, while Mario Payne (Boston, Mass.) added eight points off the bench for the Pride. Carlos Bermudez-Glean also posted a game-high five assists. 13 of the 15 Pride players to check into the game registered a field goal.
Southern Vermont (1-20 overall, 1-11 NECC) will try to bounce back on Tuesday with a 6:00 p.m. contest at Becker College. The Crimson and Gold (6-14 overall, 6-5 NECC) return to action on Tuesday night as well when the Pride travels to Lesley University for a crucial NECC contest scheduled for 8:00 p.m.