Rangers Fall in Nail-Biter to Johnson and Wales 65-63 at Chuck Stephens Classic

Pueblo, Colo.: The Ranger men's basketball team dropped their fourth in a row with a 65-63 defeat at the hands of Johnson and Wales at the Chuck Stephens Classic on the campus of CSU-Pueblo.

Regis (1-5) led twice in the first half and was able to forge two ties, but stayed close.  Johnson and Wales (5-6) led by as many as eight points and Regis saw a four point (35-31) deficit as they headed into halftime.

The two teams battled back and forth in the second half with eight ties.  The last 3:45 of the game saw little offense, with the score tied at 59 apiece, the Rangers' Matt Rosinski hit a jumper to put Regis up two with 2:28 left.  50 seconds later, Johnson and Wales pulled to within one with a free throw.

Rosinski, who scored a game-high 18 points, put Regis up three on two free throws with 1:19 left in the game.  That, unfortunately, would be the last points the Rangers would score.  The very next possession the Wildcats' Nick Maly cut it to one again, on a jumper at the 1:04 mark.

The ninth and final tie came with just 23 seconds left where after a Ranger turnover, the Wildcats were able to convert on two free throws.  The Rangers had two empty possessions and Johnson and Wales converted just one free throw the rest of the way.  Rosinski's three-pointer at the buzzer was missed, making the final score 65-63.

Junior forward Isaiah Johnson came off the bench to contribute 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.  Regis shot a reasonable 48 percent from the field, but again their bugaboo turned out to be the free throw line.  They were a combined 8-for-17, 47 percent.  Three Rangers, Joseph Odugbela, Jason Burke-Kavros and Alex Potts each chipped in with eight points.

Regis will return to action next weekend as they begin the RMAC portion of their schedule with a road trip to Durango, Colo. to take on Fort Lewis on Friday.

Click here for boxscore.