Raleigh, NC – As Christmas inches closer, the Regent University Men's Basketball team still had unfinished business as they faced William Peace University on Sunday afternoon to complete a two-game weekend road trip. It would be another match-up against a USA South member, with the Royals having already defeated one this season.
Freshman Christian Brown (Chesapeake, VA) began the first half with a deep three-pointer from the top of the key, but the Pacers answered and eventually grabbed an early four-point lead. A few minutes later Sophomore Brendan Goods (Long Beach, CA) received a pass from Junior Darrin Clark (Suffolk, VA) and drained a short one-handed shot to trim the deficit. After a timeout, Sophomore Antoine Brown (Chesapeake, VA) found a cutting Junior Vladimir Vibert (West Palm Beach, FL) for the easy two and then A. Brown followed that up with a three-pointer to pull Regent to within two points. William Peace was able to increase their advantage to seven points but a Clark layup, a three-pointer from Sophomore Micah Eastman (Virginia Beach, VA) and a C. Brown offensive put back would tie the game with 8:04 remaining in the half, 21-21. Eventually the Pacers were able to take the lead again, but threes by Goods and C. Brown kept it under 10 and as the two teams headed to the locker room the Royals trailed, 38-34.
The second half started with Regent forcing a William Peace turnover allowing C. Brown to convert a driving layup on the other end of the floor. Clark was able to grab his own miss and go up for the basket a few plays later, but the Pacers went on a run to increase the advantage to 16 points, forcing the Royals to call a time out. Vibert and A. Brown were able to hit back-to-back baskets to slow things down, but William Peace eventually got hot from the three-point line. Regent continued to battle and would trade baskets with the Pacers for the next few possessions, however, they were not able to chip into the lead. Another three and then a steal for a layup by C. Brown would give the Royals some energy and Vibert capitalized on that by making a three-point play the old fashion way. The Brown brothers showed off their cutting ability by each converting layups, but as the final buzzer sounded Regent would fall by a final score of 95-76.
C. Brown finished the game with a team high 28 points to go along with five steals and two blocks, while Clark finished the game with 15 points. In addition, Vibert added nine points and Eastman added eight points.
The Royals will be back in action on Wednesday, December 18th as travel through the tunnel for an exhibition with Hampton University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm.
