Men’s Basketball Triumphs Over Regis, 72-58

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team raced past Regis, 72-58, in non-conference action Tuesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions rise to 5-0 on the year with the win while the Pride falls to 4-2 overall.

Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) scored a team-high 15 points, hauled in eight boards and added four assists and two blocks to lead the home team.  Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) chipped in with 14 points, five rebounds and three helpers. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished with 12 points and four rebounds while Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) contributed with 10 points and five assists off the bench.

Eastern Nazarene took charge of a 15-8 lead with 13 minutes left to play in the first half after eight unanswered points.

The guests cut the margin to one point with 7:35 remaining as Hector Heredia knocked down a jumper, 20-19.

After Regis seized a 23-22 edge with 3:40 to go in the opening frame, the Lions scored six of the final eight points of the half. The hosts carried a 28-25 advantage into the halftime break after Christian Lynch banked in a fade-away shot in the final seconds of the period.

Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) poured in a team-best seven points in the first half. Jarman, Christian Lynch and Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) all netted five first-half points.

Eastern Nazarene shot 44% from the field in the opening frame while Regis connected on 37.5% of its field-goal attempts.

The Pride rallied in the opening minutes of the second stanza to claim a 34-33 advantage with 15:21 left to play as Jordan Monts converted a pair of free throws.

The Lions regained an 11-point lead, 51-40, on a lay-in by Kyle Smith (Clovis, Calif.) just past the midway point of the second half.

The home team engineered a 10-0 run to widen the gap to 18 points with 2:41 on the clock, 66-48, en route to logging its fifth-consecutive victory.

Eastern Nazarene finished the game with a field-goal percentage of 48.1% while draining 35.3% of its three-point attempts. Regis shot 35.2% from the floor and was limited to 22.2% shooting from long distance.

Monts paced the guests with 16 points and five rebounds while Chris Leak Jr. added nine points and seven boards on the night.

Up next, the Lions will square off against Colby in the first round of the UMass-Boston Harbor Invitational November 28.