Second-Half Surge Powers No. 6 Maroons over River Hawks
Down by two going into halftime, the No. 6 University of Chicago men's basketball team delivered a dominant final 20 minutes on Thursday in their first game at the Puerto Rico Clasico. The 87-59 victory over Susquehanna moves the Maroons to 8-1 on the year.
UChicago outscored the River Hawks 49–29 in the second half to claw its way back to a win.
The Maroons opened the game by attacking the paint, as Nick Roper knocked down two free throws 13 seconds in before Shane Regan converted a jumper off an assist from Eamonn Kenah to give UChicago an early edge. The opening 10 minutes of the half set the tone for the half as neither team was able to build more than a two-possession lead.
Midway through the first, the Maroons began to find rhythm in transition. After Arhan Lapsiwala jumped a passing lane for a steal, Regan finished on the fast break, sparking a brief run that included Daniel Cochran drilling a three from the left wing to give UChicago a 20–15 lead.
Susquehanna responded by closing the half on a 10–2 run, taking advantage of late fouls to turn a one-point Maroons' lead into a 40–38 advantage for them at the break.
The tone shifted quickly in favor of UChicago coming out of halftime. After the River Hawks scored on its first two possessions, Joe Berry buried a three and moments later capitalized on an offensive rebound tip-in to give the Maroons their first lead of the half at 45–44.
That basket ignited a much-needed UChicago run. Roper threw down a two-handed dunk in traffic, then Cochran connected on a pull-up three to push the margin to six. Less than a minute later, Regan buried another three for the Maroons to put them fully in control.
With just over seven minutes remaining, Roper hammered home another fast-break dunk off a Phillip Lawrence assist, pushing the lead 71–58. Cochran drilled his fourth three of the afternoon, stretching the advantage to 15, and diminishing any chance of River Hawk comeback.
Regan led all scorers with 24 points and three assists, going a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. Cochran finished with 16 points and four triples, while Roper added 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Lawrence handed out four assists as UChicago assisted on 20 of its 31 made field goals.