ROCKFORD, Ill. – Rockford University's Zach Wallace and Tony Diemer combined for 67 points, helping their team pull away in the second half to defeat the Lakeland University men's basketball team 96-75 Saturday in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game.
The Muskies were tied early in the second half but the Regents soon pulled away and gained a split of the season series between the team. Lakeland had defeated Rockford two weeks earlier at home but with the loss dropped to 4-9 overall and 3-7 in the NACC.
The 6-foot-8 Wallace finished with 34 points and 20 rebounds, while Diemer added 33 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Regents' duo was especially stout in the second half, combining for 41 points as Rockford (5-11 overall, 4-7 NACC) outscored the Muskies 56-38 after halftime.
Lakeland only led once in the game at 2-0, but the Muskies trailed by just three at halftime and tied it at 42-42 a little over a minute into the second half on a layup by
Pat McDonald (
So.-Port Washington, Wis.). Lakeland still was down just 48-46 after
Joshuan McNeal (
Jr.-Chicago, Ill.) scored inside with 16:21 left, but Rockford responded with nine straight points.
The Muskies were able to briefly trim the deficit to eight points a couple times, but the Regents soon powered ahead
with another 13-3 run to make it 74-56. Rockford eventually led by as many as 26 late in the game, outscoring Lakeland 48-24 over a 15-minute span.
Brandon James (
Jr.-Rockford, Ill.) led the Muskies with 18 points but was held to 7-for-20 shooting from the field. McDonald added 15 points, while McNeal and
Jacob Servais (
Sr.-Coon Valley, Wis.) both chipped in nine points each.
Lakeland shot 39.2% from the field, hitting 29 of 74 field goals. The Muskies were unable to keep up with the Regents' hot shooting of 58.8% for the game (40 of 68), including a sizzling 62.2% in the second half when they made 23 of 37 shots.
Lakeland is right back in action again Sunday when it hosts Finlandia (Mich.) University in a non-conference game being made up after being postponed in December. Game time at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium is 3 p.m.
