Cresson, PA – The weekend road trip continued for the Regent University Men's Basketball team on Saturday afternoon as they faced NCAA Division III member Mount Aloysius College. The Royals had a less than 24-hour turnaround, but that would not slow them down. They were ready to go as they were looking to come back to Virginia on a positive note.
The Mounties started the first half with a cutting layup, but Freshman Brandon Williams (Windsor, NC) quickly answered with a three-pointer. However, Mount Aloysius was able to string together offensive points to grab the biggest lead so far of the game, 9-3. A few minutes later, Junior Vladimir Vibert (West Palm Beach, FL) picked up where he left off last night, draining a three to pull Regent closer. Senior Silas Wertz (Kannapolis, NC) would come off the bench and covert a driving layup and that was followed by an old fashioned three-point play from Junior Darrin Clark (Suffolk, VA). The Royals would regain the lead after Sophomore Brendan Goods (Long Beach, CA) found a streaking Vibert cutting to the basket. The next few possessions were back-and-forth with both teams trading baskets for six lead changes, but the Mounties eventually pulled ahead 33-28. However, Regent went on a run of their own, which was capped off by a Vibert three and a go-ahead layup from Sophomore Antoine Brown (Chesapeake, VA). The half would end on a high note as Goods stole the ball and found Clark for the layup and then Vibert stole the ball on the next possession, taking it the length of the court to send the Royals into the locker room leading 43-39.
The second half began with a Mount Aloysius basket, but Regent answered and was back up by four points after a Brown layup. A few possessions later, Goods was able to shake off a defender to keep the Royals out in front. However, for the ninth time in the game the score would be tied, until Brown connected on another scoring opportunity. At the 10:37 mark, though, Regent found themselves down by five points, 59-54. The Mounties eventually increased their advantage to double digits but baskets from Vibert and Brown pulled the Royals to within three points, forcing Mount Aloysius to call a timeout. Regent had some chances after a Brown three from the corner, but as the buzzer sounded, they would fall by a final score of 87-80.
Vibert led the Royals with 24 points, while Brown finished the game with 20 points to go along with his 12 total rebounds (6 offensive and 6 defensive). In addition, Goods had nine points, four steals and four assists.
Regent will be back in action on Wednesday, November 20th as they visit Methodist University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm.
