MILWAUKEE - NACC play started for the Raiders men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon when they hosted Rockford inside Hotchkin Arena. It was a ballgame that saw numerous ties and lead changes in the first half, but it was the Raiders coming away with conference victory number one at the end of regulation.

RESULTS
Rockford – 78
MSOE – 90

HOW IT HAPPENED
Each team shot well in the first half, with MSOE (3-1, 1-0 NACC) making their shots 53.6 percent of the time and Rockford (1-2, 0-1 NACC) doing the same at a 58.1 percent clip. Each team traded the led back and forth, especially early on in the period. MSOE had several minor runs, grabbing a seven-point lead with 4:07 left to go before the half, but the Regents would come right back to bring the lead back down to one or two tallies. With the scored 48-46 in favor of the Raiders entering the second half, something was going to have to change in order to get the Red & White some more breathing room. It was the Raiders defense that answered the bell, bringing down the Regents shooting by more than 20 percentage points. To make things easier, they also held Rockford to 0-9 shooting from behind the arc in the final half of the game. MSOE continued to shoot exceptionally well, hitting their shots 59.1 percent of the time and making three of their seven three-point attempts. This allowed the Raiders to slowly build up a lead, one that they would not relinquish in the second half in their 90-78 win.

RAIDER REMARKS

• Rockford had the lead for just 49 seconds in Saturday's contest. There was also a total of five lead changes and five ties.
• The Raiders biggest lead of 16 points came with just 1:34 left to go in the contest.
• Matthew Kirmse locked down another double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds 

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Matthew Kirmse (23)
Rebounds – Matthew Kirmse (10)
Assists – Michael Pitrof (7)
Steals – Michael Pitrof (2)
Blocks – Travis Ballard (1)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders are back on their home court Sunday afternoon against Monmouth starting at 2:00 pm

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.