Seahawks tabbed for fourth place in coaches' poll

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Eastern Nazarene College has been voted as the favorite to win the 2014-15 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball championship after receiving three first place votes for a total of 87 points in the CCC preseason poll Just a season ago, the Lions finished second in the CCC with an overall record of 19-6, 13-5 in conference play. Gordon College, the 2013-14 CCC champions, earned second with 84 points and two first-place votes, while Endicott College claimed third with 80 points and two first place votes. Salve Regina University was selected fourth after receiving 77 points and three first place votes to round out the top four selections.

Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head men's basketball coaches.

Three of the league's teams from the 2013-14 campaign competed in postseason play. The Fighting Scots were victorious over the Bison in a thrilling 69-65 victory. Gordon earned the CCC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. In the first round, the Fighting Scots defeated Babson 76-68 earning the school's first national tournament win. Unfortunately in the second round Gordon was eliminated 81-63 to NCAA Tournament runner-up champions Williams College 81-63.

Endicott College and Salve Regina University participated in the ECAC Tournament.

All 10 CCC men's basketball teams will kick off their quest for the 2014-15 conference title this weekend. The top eight teams in the 2014-15 regular-season conference standings will qualify for the conference tournament, which gets underway Tuesday, February 24, with quarterfinal action. The winners of the quarterfinal matchups will move on to the semifinals on Thursday, February 26. The two semifinal victors will battle for the CCC championship on Saturday, February 28.

Click HERE to view the 2014-15 CCC Men's Basketball composite schedule.

Sean Foster's 2013-14 Salve Regina University squad won its first four and six of its first seven; only Division I Bryant University spoiled a perfect start through seven. The Seahawks graduated 1,000-point scorer Patrick Dinneen, all-conference forward Jeff Bielefeld, and two-year captain Joshua Hohlfelder from that team. "We'll definitely miss the rebounding from that group," says Foster, "but we also have a more athletic, quicker and faster group with this year's team. That will allow us to apply more pressure defensively and get in transition offensively." The Seahawks return all-conference guard Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.) to the lineup after sitting out all last season with an injury. Pringle enters the season with 931 career points in 81 games (11.5 ppg). All-CCC guard Barrett Hanlon (Hopkinton, Mass.) returns for his second season with the Seahawks after leading the team in scoring last year (19.0 ppg).