Morton's career-high 29 points leads Salve Regina to victory in CCC opener

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SEAHAWK MEN'S BASKETBALL RESULTS
Salve Regina 80, Western New England 69
Rodgers Recreation Center - Newport, Rhode Island
Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Summary
NEWPORT, R.I. - Junior guard Rodney Morton (Malden, Mass.) has played in the Rodgers Recreation Center twice this season and each time has established a career-high in points. Last week, his layup at the buzzer gave him 28 points and the Salve Regina University men's basketball team its first win, 84-82, over visiting Coast Guard. Tonight, Morton scores 29 points to lead the Seahawks to their third straight victory, an 80-69 final against Western New England University in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener for both teams.

Three Seahawks joined Morton in double-figure scoring including his senior co-captain Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.) who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Western New England (1-4, 0-1 CCC) sophomore Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) matched Morton in points (29) while going 11-of-15 from the floor.

Series and Streaks
Salve Regina evens the series at nine wins apiece, and has won the last three meetings on the Rodgers Recreation Center floor. In 2014, the Seahawks won by two (58-56) at home against the Golden Bears; last season on senior night, Salve Regina posted its largest margin of victory of 2015-16 with a 34-point triumph (83-49) against the same visitors.

Three Stars of the Game

1. Salve Regina junior co-captain Rodney Morton (Malden, Mass.) has now had back-to-back career-highs in games at the Rodgers Recreation Center, 28 points on Nov. 22, and now 29 points on Nov. 30. Stay tuned for next Tuesday's meeting with Roger Williams.
2. Western New England sophomore Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) matched Morton in points (29) while going 11-of-15 from the floor, but his long-range accuracy (0-for-3) could not keep pace with the Seahawk sharp shooter.
3. Salve Regina senior Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.) finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. He went seven of nine from the field and also contributed four assists.

Key Stat of the Game
Salve Regina had nearly identical field-goal shooting percentages in each half, 60 percent (15-25) in the first and 59.1 percent (13-22) in the second.

Turning Point
Salve Regina led by as many as 17 points (54-37 at 16:00 in the second) after an Isaiah Bowman (Roxbury, Mass.) 3-pointer. Western New England had the gap closed to six (71-66) after a Pettway jumper at 3:27, but Morton finished with six points (four on free throws) in the final three minutes.

Quick Hits

• Rodney Morton had 18 points in the first 20 minutes on seven of nine from the floor including four-for-four 3-pointers.
• Connor Costello (Southborough, Mass.) led all players with 11 rebounds.
• Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) and Nana Appiah (Patterson, Calif.) joined Pettway in double-figure scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• Salve Regina enjoyed a plus-12 rebounding margin, 34 to 22.
• Isaiah Bowman (Roxbury, Mass.) and Kevin Mannix (Barrington, R.I.) finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Quotes
"Every conference game is a grind and our guys did a solid job handling the sways tonight. WNE played very hard and we were very fortunate to finish the game on top. Tonight we took a step in the right direction but will have to really improve our execution going forward to have continued success." - Salve Regina head coach Sean Foster

Next Up
Salve Regina (3-3, 1-0 CCC) - Saturday, December 3 at University of New England, 3 p.m.
Western New England (1-4, 0-1 CCC) - Saturday, December 3 versus Gordon College, 3 p.m.