Lions share season-split with Seahawks

NEWPORT, R.I. - Coming off a career-high 29-point performance in a win on Saturday, Eastern Nazarene College sophomore guard Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) led all scorers with 19 points as the Lions bested Salve Regina University men's basketball, 56-49, at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

The Lions win for the seventh straight game and improve to 17-4 overall and 11-4 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), good for a tie at second place. Despite the loss, Salve Regina holds onto fourth place with a 9-6 conference mark (14-8 overall).

Eastern Nazarene raced off to the largest lead of the game in the first three minutes, scoring the first nine points of the contest. Sophomore Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) had the first three baskets of the game, scoring on layups each time. Owens hit his first of two 3-pointers at 17:05 for a 9-0 Lion lead.

Salve Regina senior forward Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) sank a layup and free throw after a Seahawk timeout and his fellow captain and classmate Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) did the same a minute later to make it a three-point game (9-6).

Freshman Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) made the next two baskets for the visitors to boost their lead back to seven (13-6), before Salve Regina went on a 13-3 run capped by a floating jumper from its freshman guard Tommy Keyes (Berkley, Mass.) at 6:21.

Eastern Nazarene regained the lead with Jeremy and Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) combining for four free throws. Owens scored the last five points for the Lions who finished the half on a 9-3 run to lead by three at the break, 25-22.

Barrett Hanlon (Hopkinton, Mass.) opened the second-half scoring with a layup. Bielefeld followed with his layup at 18:55 and then another Hanlon layup gave the Seahawks a three-point lead, 28-25. When Scott St. Lawrence (Litchfield, N.H.) sank his jumper at 11:41, the Seahawks had their largest lead of the game (38-33).

A 10-0 run for the Lions over two minutes continued into a 17-4 run during a seven-minute stretch as they opened up an eight-point lead, 50-42, at 4:22. Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) started the ENC run with a pair of layups. Jeremy Wagner and Brian Hard (Weymouth, Mass.) had consecutive 3-pointers for the Lions while overtaking the Seahawks.

Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) hit his only basket of the game at 2:56, a 3-pointer, to draw the Seahawks within five, but they would get no closer.

Salve Regina shot 42 percent from the floor (21-of-50), better than the visitors' 38.6 percent shooting (22-of-57), but the Seahawks were cold from the outside making only two of 12 attempts beyond the arc.

Lynch was the only other Lion in double figure scoring (10 points) while Hanlon led the Seahawks with 14 points, four steals and Bielefeld added 10 points, nine rebounds.

Salve Regina has a two-game road trip - at Gordon (2/15) and at Western New England (2/18) - before returning to Rodgers Recreation Center for its final regular-season home game on Saturday, February 22, against Curry. The Lions return to Quincy to host Western New England University this Saturday.