Seahawks return home to host Golden Bears

Summary: Salve Regina University men's basketball hosts Western New England University in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) meeting at the Rodgers Recreation Center (7:30 p.m. tip-off)

Match-up: Salve Regina Seahawks (11-4; 6-2 CCC) versus Western New England Golden Bears (3-11; 1-7 CCC)

Game date, time and site: Tue., Jan. 21, 2014; 7:30 p.m. @ Newport, R.I. (Rodgers Recreation Center)

Live stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/salveregina

Video/Audio: http://bit.ly/19Mpnue (Salve Regina men's basketball channel on ustream.tv; Andrew Pezzelli provides the call)  

Directions: http://bit.ly/1c4fubM

Tickets: Free admission

Series edge: Salve Regina leads, 7-5

Last Seahawk win in series: Salve Regina won 87-54 on January 10, 2013, in Newport

Last Golden Bears win in series: Western New England won 68-57 on January 29, 2013, in Springfield

Follow the Seahawks on Twitter @SRUsportsinfo

• Salve Regina leads, 7-5, in a series that began in 1986.
• The teams split last year's meetings, both winning on own home court.
• Isiah Pringle made 12-of-13 field goal attempts including five 3-pointers for a career-high 29 points as Salve Regina defeated visiting Western New England, 87-54, on January 10, 2013. Patrick Dinneen (14), Joshua Hohlfelder (12), and Brendan Fowler (10) joined Pringle in double-figure scoring in the 33-point victory. Jeff Bielefeld had a game-high 11 rebounds. Damon Alston and Dennis Rinaldi had 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Golden Bears.
• Alston matched his career high of 31 points on 11-of-19 field-goal shooting, including four 3-pointers, as Western New England defeated Salve Regina, 68-57, on January 29, 2013, in Springfield. William Smiley and Pringle scored 15 points apiece for the Seahawks as Salve Regina's win streak against Western New England ended at five games.

• Salve Regina outscored Curry by 17 points in the first half (42-25), but the Colonels returned to dominate the second half by 17 points (36-19). The 19 points was the lowest offensive output for any half all season for the Seahawks.
• Six of Salve Regina's eight points in overtime came at the free throw line. Patrick Dinneen's layup at 2:02 in the extra session gave the Seahawks a 66-63 lead.
• Lambros Papalambros scored all of his team's points in the overtime (six) and finished with a game-high 27 points.
• Jeff Bielefeld recorded a double-double with team-highs in points (23) and rebounds (11). Joshua Hohlfelder added 19 points, while Dinneen chipped in with 12.
• Dinneen stole the ball on the Colonels' last possession.

• Western New England had four scorers in double-digits, led by senior Dennis Rinaldi's game highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to offset a solid shooting performance by Endicott in an 82-76 loss.
• Newcomer Luis Agrait pumped in a career-high 13 points off the bench to join Rinaldi in double-digits, plus teammates Musa Elsir and Kevin Wilkes added 11 and 10, respectively.

• Dennis Rinaldi is the only player in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) averaging a double-double on the season (16.0 ppg - t5th; 10.0 rpg - 1st).
• Musa Elsir, Nick DeFeo, and Zack Askew are all scoring in double-figure averages for Western New England with 12.6, 10.1, and 10.0 points per game, respectively.
• The Golden Bears struggle from long range (ranking last in league in 3-point field goal percentage) and free range (last also in free throw percentage).

• Salve Regina's 34-point victory in its home opener over Connecticut College on November 19, 2013, represents its largest margin of victory in a home game for the Seahawks since an 86-51 win against visiting Lesley on December 6, 2008.
• Salve Regina's largest margin of victory ever (51 points) came on February 12, 1995, in a 124-73 win against New England College at Rogers High School gymnasium (Newport, R.I.).
• The Seahawks have outscored their opponents in the Rodgers Recreation Center by 58 points (356-298), suffering only a one-point loss 10 days ago to Gordon College (71-70).

• Salve Regina men's basketball is playing for the 15th time on January 21.
• The last regular-season game Salve Regina scored 100 or more points came in a 100-76 victory over Nichols on January 21, 2009.

• Please click here for an individual career history report (pdf) for the entire 2013-14 Salve Regina men's basketball roster. 

• Seniors Jeff Bielefeld and Joshua Hohlfelder share captains' duties for the 2013-14 season.
• 12th-year head coach Sean Foster remarks: "Our staff is excited to have such dynamic leadership going into the 2013-14 season. Jeff and Josh are tremendous people, excellent students and hard-working athletes. Their positive example will be extremely beneficial to our younger players." 

TEAM - POINTS (FIRST-PLACE VOTES)
1. Gordon - 90 (4)
2. Curry - 89 (4)
3. Endicott - 81 (2)
4. Nichols - 64
5. Salve Regina - 51
6. Eastern Nazarene - 49
7. Roger Williams - 40
7. Wentworth - 40
9. U. of New England - 28
10. Western New Eng. - 18

• Two of the top three rebounders in the league are in tonight's game - WNE's Dennis Rinaldi leads all CCC players with 10.0 rebounds per game while Jeff Bielefeld ranks third with 9.0 rebounds per game.
• Barrett Hanlon ranks third in the league in scoring (17.5 ppg).
• Bielefeld and Zack Askew are second and third, respectively, in field goal percentage (55.6% and 54.9%).
• Salve Regina ranks second in the CCC in steals per game (8.4 spg) while Western New England owns the league's best rebounding margin (+5.8 per game).

• Salve Regina hosts Roger Williams during Alumni Hoopsfest 2014 on the Seahawk campus.
• Western New England hosts University of New England on the same day.

• Jeff Bielefeld leads the Seahawks with seven double-doubles on the season.
• Nicholas Bates has the only other double-double for the Seahawks, posting the first of his career in his first home game.

• Sean Foster is in his 12th season as the head coach, the winningest in the history of the Seahawks (151-156; .492).
• His 4-0 start for the 2013-14 season marked the best in program history.
• Foster welcomes new assistants Matt Adams and Tyler Hundley to his coaching staff.

• Patrick Dinneen now has 966 career points, ranking 20th on the school's all-time scoring list for men's basketball, recently passing Isiah Pringle who is tied for 21st with Brian Meehan (931 points).