Men’s Basketball Opens At Regis, Falling 85-78

Ingram-Rubin leads all Falcons with a game-high 26 points

WESTON, Mass. (November 15, 2013) - Five players reached double-digits in scoring as the Regis College Pride defeated Fitchburg State University, 85-78, on Friday night in men's basketball action as part of the 2013 Regis College Tip-Off Tournament in Weston, Mass.

The Pride advance to the Tip-Off Championship game tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. where the hosts will face Bowdoin College, who defeated Western Connecticut State University, 80-55, in the other opening round game. Fitchburg State and Western Connecticut will face off at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow night in the consolation game of the Tournament.

The game started out as a back-and-forth battle before a three-pointer by Pat Gooden (Belchertown, Mass.) and a jumper from Mike Ingram-Rubin (Boston, Mass.) made it a 7-4 lead for Fitchburg State. Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) and Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) answered with a pair of jumpers to put Regis back on top, but Ingram-Rubin hit an and-one layup to give the Falcons a 12-11 lead with 13:20 to play.

Fitchburg State led 17-13 following a triple from Mo Molin (Brockton, Mass.), but the Pride responded with a 9-0 run to take a 22-17 lead with 8:38 remaining in the opening half. Regis took its largest lead of the opening period following a tip-in by Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) that made it a 28-19 ball game, but this time the Falcons answered with an 11-0 run capped off by an Ingram-Rubin triple that put Fitchburg State back on top, 30-28. The two teams traded baskets over the final two minutes of play before Ingram-Rubin sent the Falcons into the half with a 35-31 lead by burying a deep three with less than 10 seconds remaining.

Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) opened the scoring in the second half with a jumper on a feed from Osanto Marc (Kissimmee, Fla.), and following a Jean-Gilles steal, the Pride knotted the game at 35-all on a pair of Marc free-throws. A Chambers three gave the Pride a short-lived 38-35 lead before FSU's Josh Imadiyi (Lynn, Mass.) capped a quick 4-0 spurt for Fitchburg with a layup to put the Falcons back on top.

Following a jumper by Fitchburg's Anthony Muccioli (Nashua, N.H.) that tied the game at 50-50, Chambers nailed another three pointer to give Regis a 53-50 lead with 11:33 to play. An Osanto Marc freethrow put the hosts on top by four, but two quick buckets by the Falcons tied the game at 54-all. Chambers answered with a triple at the other end to give Regis another three-point lead, and Carlos Bermudez-Glean (Boston, Mass.) buried a three ball of his own on the next Pride possession to give Regis a six point advantage.

As they had done all night, Fitchburg clawed their way back into the game and made it a one-point game at 62-61 following a Imadiyi jumper with 7:23 to play. Muccioli tied the game up nearly four minutes later with a jumper in the lane that made it 68-all, but the Pride rattled off a 9-2 run over the next two minutes of action as a Peana layup with 1:30 remaining made it a 77-70 ball game. The Pride hit their free-throws down the stretch and turned up the defense over the final 90 seconds to hang on for an 85-78 win.

Regis won the rebounding battle 42-39, but lost the turnover margin as the Pride committed 18 turnovers to the Falcons' 15. The Pride shot an efficient 51.6% from the field and went 7-for-14 on its three point attempts, but struggled at the line only making 14-of-27 freebies. Fitchburg ended the night shooting 28-for-70 (40%) from the field and made 13-of-17 free-throws.

Ingram-Rubin led the Falcons with a game-high 26 points, six assists, and three steals. Molin joined him in double-figures with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Imadiyi posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.