Virginia Beach, VA – As the Thanksgiving Holiday approaches, the Regent University Men's Basketball team had one more thing on their agenda before enjoying some downtime. Tonight, the Royals made the short trip up I-64 to face their neighbor, Virginia Wesleyan University. The two teams are the only NCAA DIII schools in the city and this would be the first time they have played in that capacity. Regent was coming off a positive showing the past week, as were the Marlins, which set the stage for the out of conference game.
The first half started with both defenses holding the offenses to one and outs, but Freshman Christian Brown (Chesapeake, VA) put the Royals on the board after converting a free throw and then he found his brother Junior Antoine Brown (Chesapeake, VA) for a short jumper. On the next possession C. Brown drove past his defender for a layup, but the Marlins had an answer. The scoring stopped for the next few minutes as both teams tightened up defensively, but Freshman Grant Worley (Chesapeake, VA) would drain a three-pointer from the wing to trim the deficit to 11-8. However, Virginia Wesleyan was able to get points from the free throw line and extend their advantage to seven points. Worley stopped the run after taking a pass from Senior Darrin Clark (Suffolk, VA) and delivering a dunk, and then C. Brown added two more points with a driving layup. After two free throws and a three-pointer by Clark, the lead was only two, forcing the Marlins to call a timeout. A. Brown kept Regent within striking distance with three of four free throws, and then C. Brown cut it to one point with a driving layup. After a Virginia Wesleyan score at the other end, A. Brown delivered a three-pointer to keep the momentum going. However, the Marlins would answer, and as the teams headed to the locker room, the Royals trailed 36-26.
C. Brown drove in for a jumper to begin the second half and a few plays later A. Brown dribbled to the paint and converted his own jumper. Senior Brendan Goods (Melbourne, FL) added two more points converting two free throws and that was followed by a cutting layup by A. Brown. Unfortunately, the Marlins were able to answer those scores and at the first media timeout they led 43-34. After eventually falling behind by 11 points, C. Brown converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and a few minutes later Junior Dorian Tema (Frederick, MD) grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, allowing him to get two from the free throw line. Virginia Wesleyan was eventually able to increase their lead to 11 points for the second time in the game, but Sophomore Ichi Layne (Middlesex, VA) cut it back to eight points with three free throws. Regent was able to make some defensive stands and convert them into points but as the final buzzer sounded, they would fall by a final score of 74-58.
C. Brown and A. Brown finished the game with 12 points apiece, while Tema added 11 points. In addition, Tema and A. Brown combined for 14 total rebounds (8 and 6).
The Royals will be back in action on Saturday, November 29th when they host Randolph College. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00pm.
