News Release

ROCKFORD, Ill. — The Regent men’s team started off on the wrong foot as the Spartans began the game with an unanswered 8-point run. Seneca Evans (Chicago, IL/Chicago Vocational) put the Regents on the board with a 3-pointer, but the Regents were not yet ready to be revived. The Spartans progressively ran the lead up until it reached 15. At that point, the Regents began hacking it down, getting it down to 5 within the next few minutes and down to 4 by the end of the half. In the second half, the Regents were harried by the return of Spartan Larry Welton (Chicago, IL/Thornwood) to the game, letting the Spartans get their lead back into double digits. With some strong performances by Jacob Dunkel (South Beloit, IL/South Beloit) and Maurice Smith (Loves Park, IL/Machesney Park Harlem), the Regents worked away at the Spartan lead once again, getting it down to 1 with about five minutes left in the game. A pair of free throws shortly thereafter helped to tie the game, but the Spartans were not giving up without a fight. In the last three minutes, the Regents had to cause four fouls to try to create scoring opportunities. However, the Spartans took their work at the line seriously and performed well, making it difficult for the Regents to return. The Regents fell by 6 in the end.
The Spartan men were led by Larry Welton with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Chad Trudo (Yorkville, IL/Yorkville) had a double-double for the Spartans with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Regents were led in scoring by Maurice Smith, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jacob Dunkel had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Seneca Evans and Dupree Powell (Rockford, IL/Jefferson) each scored in double-digits as well. This was Dunkel’s fourth double-double in his freshman season with the Regents. The Regent men are now 9-7 overall and 0-1 in the NIIC.