Dinneen career-high 32 pts; Lasell wins, 78-70

NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior guard Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) scored a career-high 32 points, including 20 in the second half, but visiting Lasell College (17-11) defeated Salve Regina University (17-11) tonight in first-round action of the ECAC New England Men's Basketball Championships, 78-70, at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

Dinneen's first basket of the game, at 15:18 in the first half, gave Salve Regina its last lead of the contest, 9-7. Senior Brock Walters (Jacksonville, Fla.) and sophomore Clyde Niba (Atlanta, Ga.) sank successive 3-pointers as the fifth-seeded Lasers took control of the first half. Lasell had its largest lead, 10 points, following five straight points from sophomore guard Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) whose jumper at 3:17 made the score 33-23.

Four different Seahawks scored in a subsequent 9-0 run started by a 3-pointer from starting point guard Tommy Keyes (Berkley, Mass.). Senior forward Jeff Bielefeld's (Littleton, Mass.) layup at 1:30 closed the gap to one, 33-32, before Walters' 3-pointer finished the first-half scoring at the 1:01 mark.

Lasell led by four at the break, 36-32, hitting seven 3-pointers to Salve Regina's four in the opening period.

The Lasers looked inside more often in the second half. Niba and Brandon Ganesh (West Palm Beach, Fla.) both scored layups to start the second stanza. Another Keyes deep ball started a 16-8 run for the fourth-seeded Seahawks, who tied the score again at 48-all following a Keyes short jumper at 14:29.

Two layups from junior guard Mike Vallone (Wallingford, Conn.) gave Lasell a four-point cushion before freshman forward Evan Lerner (Hopedale, Mass.) sank two free throws and then a layup for the game's fourth and final tie, 52-52.

A 12-3 run for Lasell featured two 3-pointers from Niba. Trailing by nine (64-55) after a Ganesh layup at 8:28, Salve Regina got as close as three points (73-70) following Brenden Fowler's (No. Attleboro, Mass.) layup at 1:09 remaining.

Walters and Angel Ortiz (East Lyme, Conn.) made five of six free throws in the final minute to finish the scoring.

Bielefeld finished his career with another double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds), his 10th of the season. With 862 career points (top 25 in program history), he posted his best scoring average as a senior (13.5 points per game), doubling any previous output. More impressively, he finishes as the school's No. 2 all-time rebounder (872 boards).

Keyes concluded his freshman campaign with a career-best 10 points. Dinneen shot 50 percent from the floor (11 of 22) including six of 12 3-point attempts; his 1,198 career points rank eighth on the school's all-time list.

Ganesh and Niba paced the Lasers with 18 points apiece. Walters added 17 points for Lasell which edged Salve Regina on the boards, 33-32. Lasell faces top-seeded Nichols College on Saturday; the Bison won their quarterfinal, 82-65, against eighth-seeded Plymouth State University.