CHICAGO -- The University of Chicago men's basketball team began the 2025-26 season with a commanding win over UC Santa Cruz in its Midway Classic home opener. The Maroons pulled away early and used their 50% shooting from the field to cruise to the 82-64 victory.

Shane Regan started his dominant day notching the first two points of the game with a drive to the paint to open the scoring for the Maroons. Eamonn Kenah followed quickly behind by forcing a turnover and knocking down a deep three to make the early score 5-0.

UChicago found themselves on a 15-4 run after Kenah hit another three with nine minutes left. Finding their offensive rhythm early, Regan made his way to the basket again to give UChicago their biggest lead of the half at 12. Joe Berry closed out the half with a three from Regan to send UChicago into the break with a 41-30 advantage.

In the first half, the Maroons forced the Banana Slugs into eight turnovers, turning them into fast-break points at the other end. They also held UC Santa Cruz to shooting just 14% from the three.

UChicago showed no signs of slowing down as Kenah and Daniel Cochran buried two triples to open the next 20 minutes. The Maroons' offense and ball movement fueled an efficient afternoon, shooting 50% from the field and 41.7% from the three overall. Noah Pit also created a spark off the bench on 3-for-5 shooting from behind the arc.

Berry anchored the backcourt with nine rebounds and five assists while also adding seven points to his stat sheet. Kenah and Regan combined for 49 of UChicago's 82 points, going 17-24 from the field and a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.

With the win, the Maroons improve to 1-0 on the season. The team returns to action on Sunday at 4 PM as the team takes on (RV) Trinity (TX) in the final game of the Midway Classic.