CANYON, Tex. – In their first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Tournament appearance in 22 years, the Regis University men's basketball team (27-5) took down the Dallas Baptist Patriots (26-6) of the Heartland Conference 87-82.
 
How It Happened: Sophomore Christian Little (10) and junior Jarrett Brodbeck (11) combined for 22 points in the first half as Regis fought their way back from seven-points down to tie the game at 36 by halftime.
 
The Rangers and the Patriots traded baskets in the early part of the second half, which was to be expected from two teams playing for their tournament lives. Trailing by two, RU sparked a 6-0 run that put them in front 52-48 with 14:28 to go in the second half.
 
A couple minutes later, Regis extended their lead to six points when senior Dexter Sienko put in a shot from the low block. By the 7:46 mark, the Rangers had their largest lead of the game, 67-57, capped off by a three-pointer from junior Avonte Nelms.
 
Little was relentless on both ends of the floor and Sienko went a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor in the second half which allowed RU to control and sustain the momentum. With a 75-69 lead and 2:37 left in the game, Regis missed a shot, but Little tracked down the offensive board, which allowed the Rangers to run the clock down a little bit further.
 
Another missed shot from RU was gobbled up by Sienko which forced the Patriots to begin fouling in a last-ditch effort to make a comeback with 1:30 remaining in the game. From that point on Regis knocked down 12-of-18 shots from the free-throw line which helped put the game away for good, 87-82, when the final horn sounded.
 
Game Notes: Little (7-13 FG, 8-8 FT) led the team in scoring (22), rebounding (13), and assists (6) as he flirted with a triple-double. Brodbeck (6-12 FG, 2-6 3-pt, 3 REB, 2 AST) had an efficient night from the floor, scoring 17 points in the game. Sienko (15 PTS, 6-8 FG, 3 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL) and senior Ty McGee (11 PTS, 4-12 FG, 3-5 FT, 8 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK) were the only other Rangers to score in double-figures. RU finished with a 47.7 percent shooting percentage from the field while DBU shot 54.8 percent. Regis forced 14 turnovers in the game which led to 10 points on the offensive end, limiting their own turnovers to 11. The rebounding margin tilted in favor of the Rangers who grabbed 37 to only 31 for the Patriots.
 
This is the first NCAA Tournament win for the men's basketball team since the 1995-96 season. With the win, RU now has 27 on the season, which is the second most in program history. The only team to win more games in a single-season is the 1948-49 squad that went 36-3 under the direction of Larry Varnell.

Up Next for the Rangers: The men's basketball team will take on the winner of No. 2 seed University of Texas – Permian Basin and No. 7 seed University of Arkansas – Fort Smith tomorrow at 4 p.m. MST.