SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - The men's basketball team hit the road Thursday night to take on Lakeland College as the Regents kicked off a three-game road trip. Rockford has been extremely hot as of late winning its last three games including toppling the top ranked Spartans just two days prior. However, it was the Muskies who came out clicking on all cylinders as the Regents struggled to find the bottom of the net. Rockford shot just 25.8% (17-of-66) from the floor and 19.0% (4-of-21) from three-point range compared to 47.3% (26-of-55) and 30.8% (4-of-13) respectively for Lakeland. The Muskies also used their depth to wear down the Regents as the Lakeland bench outscored Rockford's bench 37-8 en route to a 66-52 Lakeland win.
After John O'Bryan (Richmond, Ky.) knocked down the game's opening shot attempt to give Rockford a 3-0 lead, the Regents went ice cold from the floor. The Muskies took full advantage scoring the next 11 points as Rockford did not score another point until the 13:47 mark. Lakeland continued to build on its lead until it reached a game-high 17 points as the Muskies led 24-7 with 10:01 remaining in the opening half. Rockford was able to chip away at the Lakeland lead over the next 10 minutes as they got back within 14 points entering halftime.
The Regents were able to make things interesting in the second half as they put together one final run to make it just a one-possession game. With 11:26 remaining and Rockford still trailing by 15 points, the Regents strung together a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to make it a just a 53-50 Muskie lead. Rockford used a balanced offensive attack during the run as the Regents got four points from Michael Murray (Princeton, Ill.), three from Zach Wallace (Rockford, Ill.) and Trae Blumhorst (Mendota, Ill.) and two points apiece from John O'Bryan and Jeff McChristy (Stonington, Ill.). However Rockford scored just 2 points in the final 4 minutes and 33 seconds as Lakeland closed the game on a 13-2 run to end the Regents' win streak.
Sophomore Zach Wallace narrowly missed his sixth double-double of the season recording team-highs in both points and rebounds with 16 and 9 respectively. Wallace also added 1 block and 1 steal to his stat line.
Trae Blumhorst and Ross Arteaga (Mendota, Ill.) were the other two Regents to hit double-digits in scoring. Blumhorst tallied 11 points with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, while Arteaga added 10 points, 3 assists and 1 rebound.
Michael Murray and Jeff McChristy combined to score all eight of Rockford's bench points. Murray finished with 4 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks while McChristy tallied 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist.
The RU men's basketball team will be back in action on Saturday, January 31 on the road against MSOE. Tip-off is set for 4:15 p.m. in the Kern Center.
