PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Rockford University shot 60% as part of a big second half and the Lakeland University men's basketball team came up short in a 96-81 loss Saturday afternoon at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Regents took control in the game's final 10 minutes and clinched a split of the teams' home-and-home season series. Rockford avenged a loss to the Muskies on its homecourt in December and also pulled into a tie with Lakeland in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, with both teams now 5-5 in league play.

The Muskies (6-11 overall) saw their three-game winning streak stopped after being unable to match the Regents in the second half and in particular struggling down the stretch.

Lakeland led 39-34 at halftime but Rockford scored 62 points in the second half, the most by a Muskies opponent in a half this season. The Regents scored 35 points in the first 10 minutes, 41 seconds of the second half alone and made 21 of 35 shots in the final 20 minutes, including six three-pointers plus 20 of 26 free throws.

Rockford (10-7 overall) took the lead for what proved to be for good with two free throws by Noody Lacey making it 53-51 with 14:04 left in the game. Lakeland stayed closed and was within 62-60 when Jaxson Dillon (Jr.-Menasha, Wis.) hit a three-pointer with 10:39 left, but the Regents slowly began building some distance. An 8-1 run capped by a jumper by Lacey gave Rockford a 75-65 lead with 7:16 left, and the Muskies would never get closer than six points again. The guests put the game away with a 9-0 run in just over a minute late, with free throws by DeVon Oregon putting the Regents up 89-72 with 2:25 left for the largest lead of the game.

Lakeland shot just 37.5% (12 of 32) in the second half, cooling off after a good first half and even sitting at 50% shooting for a brief span after halftime. The Muskies especially dried up from three-point range, going 4-for-18 (22.2%) in the final 20 minutes including missing eight of their last nine from deep.

The teams traded momentum swings in a fast-paced opening half, with Lakeland leading by five early on before Rockford took the point for much of the final 11 minutes of the half. The Regents led 34-26 after a three-pointer by Lacey with 2:51 left in the half, but the Muskies surged just before halftime, going on a quick 13-0 run capped by two free throws by Asanjai Hunter (Jr.-Racine, Wis.) to take a five-point lead into halftime.

Cliff McCray (Sr.-Madison, Wis.) led Lakeland with 20 points and eight rebounds and Isaiah Hammond (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) returned from injury to added 19 points. Hunter also scored 15 points and Dillon added 13.

The Muskies finished shooting 42.6% (26 of 61), including 9 of 32 on three-point tries (28.1%). Rockford also dominated the rebounding battle, as a Regents team outrebounding teams by an average of nearly 10 per game all season won the boards by a 48-28 margin Saturday.

Oregon and Jaden Bell scored 19 points each to lead Rockford. Bell also added 12 rebounds and Micah Swanson finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The Regents finished shooting 50.0% (31 of 62), including 10 of 25 (40.0%) on three-pointers.

Lakeland next gets ready for a trip to face NACC-leading Wisconsin Lutheran College this Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Milwaukee.