R.J. Demps made a late-game drive, missed the shot, then stole the ball from a ThunderRidge player who had rebounded it.

The Regis Jesuit senior then scored the winning points against a foot-taller Dave Day after the steal, and Demps' three-point play helped give second-ranked Regis its first victory against ThunderRidge, 55-52 at Gibbs Gym on Tuesday.

Demps' basket was only his second of the game, with both coming in the fourth quarter, when the Raiders outscored ThunderRidge 22-11.

"When I jumped to the basket, they slapped the ball out of my hands, but I still had the composure to put it up," Demps said. "Then the ball bounced off the rim, (Day) grabbed it. I saw it, snatched it back real quick and put it up, and he fouled me."

Demps did have position for his shot, having come from underneath the basket to make the steal. But how does a 5-foot-7 guard score against a 6-7 big man?

"Use your body and composure," Demps said.

"It was just a hustle play," Regis guard Will Cobb said.

Cobb made four key steals against the Grizzlies and also came up big on offense in the fourth quarter with three baskets. He finished with 11 points, second to Bud Thomas' 16 for the Raiders.

Regis put a virtual lock on the Continental League title with the win. The Raiders (18-2 overall, 8-0 in league) have beaten all the close Continental challengers.

ThunderRidge had an 18-15 lead after the first quarter as Brandon Jimenez and Troy Noser each made a three-pointer and Mike Ernst came off the bench for two baskets.

Dave Arnold hit from outside in the second quarter, while the Regis offense was misfiring with only eight points, its team total matched by Arnold. Thomas, while consistently scoring, didn't take over the game as he often does.

"I just didn't think we came out with the juice we needed in a big game like this," Regis coach Ken Shaw said.

ThunderRidge's reliance on the three-pointer also meant the Grizzlies shot only three free throws. Regis wasn't granted a lot of trips to the free-throw line, either, but the Raiders made all six of their attempts.

Regis, which has lost only to top-ranked Fairview, also got key contributions from big men Ryan Winters (eight points) and Drew Dyer (six points, with a rebound and length-of-the-floor drive for a layup).

ThunderRidge (12-8, 5-3) got 15 points from Arnold, who played a great all-around game with crucial rebounds and good passing. Noser, who made four three-pointers, scored 14.

The Grizzlies led 35-23 early in the second half, but Regis gradually shaved it away in the third quarter, then blew out ThunderRidge.

"Turnovers in the end (six in the last quarter) hurt us," Noser said. "We just didn't have it go our way."

ThunderRidge . . . 18 15 8 11 - 52

Regis . . . 15 8 10 22 - 55

TR - Brandon Jimenez 2 0-0 5, Dave Day 4 0-0 8, Troy Noser 5 0-0 14, Josh Heikkila 3 0-0 6, Dave Arnold 6 1-2 15, Mike Ernst 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 1-2 52.

R - Joey Ptasinski 2 2-2 6, Will Cobb 5 1-1 11, R.J. Demps 2 1-1 5, Bud Thomas 7 0-0 16, Michael Clark 1 0-0 3, Ryan Winters 3 2-2 8, Drew Dyer 3 0-0 6. Totals 23 6-6 55.

Three-point goals - TR, Jimenez, Noser 4, Arnold 2; R, Thomas 2, Clark.