Norton, Mass.- The Hunter College men's basketball team fell to Regis College in their second match up at the Wheaton College Tip-Off Classic on Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks (0-2) got on the board first with a jumper by
Jared Brown in the opening seconds. Hunter would lead until a defensive rebound followed by a layup by Regis (2-1) put them ahead, 9-8. Regis held the lead until 8:23 when Hunter netted six consecutive points to overcome the Pride, 22-21, for just the second lead change of the game. A free throw from
Luka Jakic and a three by Devon Matthews added to the lead but Regis was able to take the lead back, holding the Hawks at 31 for two straight minutes. Despite being down by as much as 9, the Hawks fought back as
Ryan Lau's layup put the Purple and Gold just four behind to close out the first half of play, 44-40.
The Pride opened up the second half with a three, extended their lead to seven but threes by returners
Casey Meyers and
Cormac Reilly, brought Hunter within one. Hunter regained the lead in the 16th minute of the half as
Jeremy Montrose grabbed a steal, dishing it off to Riley in the paint. Regis kept pushing taking back the lead and eventually extended it to 13 with under two minutes to play, the largest of the game. The Hawks fought back but were unable to overcome and eventually fell, 104-92 in their second game of the season.
While Regis outshot Hunter in the field, the Hawks held and impressive 71.4% from the line, including a perfect 6-6 from Ernie Parada. Jakic lead the team with 23 points overall and nine rebounds, followed by Riley who added four threes for 16 points. Montrose and Meyers grabbed six rebounds a piece, adding 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Despite the loss, Jakic earned All-Tournament recognition for his efforts which included 45 points across two games, scoring over 20 points in each, in addition to 14 total assists. He averaged .65 from the field and .67 from the line.
Hunter returns to the court for its home opener on Tuesday Nov. 12 to host Pratt at 7:00 p.m.
