Double-double for Bates helps Seahawks to sweep over Golden Bears

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 25, 2017) – The Western New England University men's basketball team was unable to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit in a 71-66, Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) setback to Salve Regina University this evening at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers

• Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears with a team-high 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line to go with four rebounds and four assists.
• Freshman guard Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) made 4-of-11 three-pointers and 6-of-14 shots overall on his way to a 16-point performance.
• Senior forward Daniel Silva (Seekonk, Mass.) was also in double figures with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists, while freshman forward Mike McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) finished two points shy of his first career double-double with eight points and ten boards.
• Senior forward Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.) posted a solid all-around effort to lead Salve Regina with 13 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
• Junior guard Rodney Morton (Malden, Mass.) scored a team-high 17 points, while sophomore guard Isaiah Bowman (Roxbury, Mass.) added 13 points and four boards.

Game Review

• Salve Regina led 9-4 five minutes into the contest as the Golden Bears missed six of their first eight field goal attempts. Western New England faced the same deficit (20-15) after Pettway cut through the Salve defense and got to the rim for a layup with 7:20 remaining in the half.
• Bates scored nine straight points for the Seahawks over the next 4:35 as the visitors used a 9-4 run to extend their advantage into double-digits (29-19) for the first time with 2:45 on the clock.
• Pettway, who led the Golden Bears with ten points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half, knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled on a jumper with less than one second remaining to cut Western New England's deficit to nine (36-27) at the break.
• Salve Regina maintained at least a five-point lead until McCourt got the Golden Bears to within four (47-43) with a layup at the 9:16 mark of the second half.
• After the Seahawks stretched their lead back to eight (57-49), McGuire banked in a floater in the lane and Silva followed with a corner three-pointer to cut Western New England's deficit to three (57-54) with 4:15 remaining. Less than a minute later, a trey by McCourt had the Golden Bears within a point (58-57), but they were unable to complete the comeback.
• Bowman answered with a key three-pointer for Salve Regina with 2:23 left in regulation, and Morton connected on a deep triple as the shot clock expired to make it a seven-point game (66-59) with 1:13 to play.
• McGuire's fourth three-pointer of the night with 54 seconds remaining cut the deficit to four (66-62), but the Seahawks made key free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Notes

• Western New England shot 42.9% (24-of-56) from the field, 28.9% (11-of-38) from three-point range, and 77.8% (7-of-9) from the free throw line.
• The Seahawks outrebounded the Golden Bears 34-28.
• Led by McGuire, Western New England's bench outscored Salve Regina's reserves 20-7.
• Salve Regina sweeps the season series.

Up Next
Western New England (3-14, 2-9 CCC) will host the University of New England on Saturday at 3 p.m., while Salve Regina (6-11, 4-7 CCC) returns home to take on Curry.