Hanlon comes back to lead Seahawk comeback
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Salve Regina (14-7, 9-5 CCC) | 27 | 39 | 66 |
|
U. of New England (1-20, 1-13 CCC) | 29 | 31 | 60 |
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Facing a five-point deficit at the midway point of the 2nd half, Salve Regina University scored 11 unanswered points to take the lead for good on the way to a 66-60 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball victory over the University of New England on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8) at the Harold Alfond Forum.
The Seahawks move to 14-7 on the year, 9-5 in CCC games. UNE drops to 1-20 overall and 1-13 in league action.
Following the run that left SRU up 56-50, Big Blue brought the margin to one (58-57) down the stretch, but Salve sophomore guard Barrett Hanlon (Hopkinton, Mass.) tallied the next five points to give the visitors some breathing room.
The Seahawks shot 52 percent (12 of 23) from the floor in the final frame, and knocked down 13-of-16 free throws to end with a 13-point cushion (20-7) at the charity stripe.
Hanlon scored 15 of his team-high 20 points after halftime, and grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds. Senior Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) added 12 points, and classmate Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) chipped in with nine. Bielefeld corralled eight rebounds for Salve Regina, which finished with 42-29 advantage on the glass.
The Nor'easters received a game-high 21 points --including 18 in the initial 20 minutes -- from first-year Brayden Morse (Long Beach, Calif.), and another 15 from classmate Justin Pollard (Cape Neddick, Maine). Both pulled in seven rebounds, and Pollard scored all of his points from behind the arc while dishing out four assists and picking up four steals.
UNE had the lead for a good portion of the opening period, going ahead by as many as six (13-7). The Seahawks swung the contest in their favor to a 22-18 edge, however an 8-0 spurt from Big Blue got the advantage right back.
Morse made the difference five (29-24) with his fourth triple of the 1st half inside the last 10 seconds, but SRU sophomore Chris O'Keefe (Lexington, Mass.) pushed play quickly in the other direction and drained a 30-footer as time expired to trim it to a two-point game at the break.
Both sides get back to work on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.) on their respective home courts, as the Seahawks entertain Eastern Nazarene College and the Nor'easters welcome in Gordon College.