Pringle leads the way to victory over Wheaton, 83-69

NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University graduate student Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.), playing in his first home game since February 2013, came off the bench to spark the Seahawks to an 83-69 victory over Wheaton College in non-league action at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

Pringle's 24 points led all scorers and he was joined by fellow reserves in double-figures - freshman Adam Quinlan (East Walpole, Mass.) and junior Brenden Fowler (No. Attleboro, Mass.) with 12 points apiece.

Salve Regina (1-2) trailed 9-0 in the first two and a half minutes as Wheaton's (1-2) Timothy Berry (Sterling, Mass.) and Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass.) both had field goals and a pair of free throws for the early Lyon lead.

Freshman Bryce Boggs (Hyde Park, Mass.) scored the next four points with a fastbreak layup and two free throws. After Zach Parson's (Belchertown, Mass.) made one of two free throws, senior co-captain Eric MacKinnon (South Easton, Mass.) sank a pair. Enter Isiah Pringle.

During an 11-2 run for the Seahawks, Pringle scored seven points including a 3-pointer that put Salve Regina up five (17-12) with under 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

Two baskets for Wheaton cut the margin to one before another 3-pointer for Pringle was followed by a Fowler layup.

Capstick stuck his second 3-pointer of the game at 9:11 and Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn.), fresh off a career-high 34 points in the Lyons' 70-53 victory against Johnson State on Sunday, made his first of only two field goals in the game. Battaglia finished with seven points.

A 3-pointer for MacKinnon gave Salve Regina a four-point lead (25-21 at 8:02), but six free throws for the Lyons wrapped around a Fowler layup tied the score at 27-all with 4:52 remaining. Scott St. Lawrence's (Litchfield, N.H.) layup at 4:29 started an 8-0 run which included 3-pointers for freshman Rodney Morton (Malden, Mass.) and Pringle. Pringle, who had the final field goal of the first half, a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left, went into the break with a 6-for-8 stat line including four 3-pointers for 16 points. Salve Regina led by eight, 42-34.

The Lyons opened the second half with a 14-4 run to go up two three and a half minutes into the period. Battaglia and Berry swished 3-pointers during the run.

Mike Cannon's (New York, N.Y.) layup at 11:54 completed a 10-4 run for Wheaton which then held a three-point lead (58-55).

Salve Regina outscored Wheaton, 26-to-5, over the next 7:37. Pringle had two more threes and a short jumper. Boggs had a pair of drives to the basket and two free throws. Fowler's jumper at 2:50 matched the largest lead of the game (18 points, 83-65), before Parsons and K.J. Pontes (Dorchester, Mass.) finished the scoring.

Boggs finished with 19 points. Pringle raised his career scoring total to 980 points, and plays on the road at Worcester State University on Saturday with a chance to become the 17th men's basketball player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. St. Lawrence and junior Chris O'Keefe (Lexington, Mass.) led the Seahawks with eight rebounds each.

Capstick (13), Berry (11), and Parsons (10) led the Lyons in scoring; Berry finished with a double-double and a game-high 11 rebounds. Wheaton hosts Roger Williams on Saturday (1 p.m.).

The Seahawks earn their third straight victory over the Lyons.