Clay has a day; Seahawks complete comeback against Pilgrims in OT, 97-95

NEWPORT, R.I. (December 11, 2021) - In his first collegiate start, Salve Regina University (7-3) sophomore Clay Brochu (North Kingstown, R.I.) played every minute as it took overtime for the Seahawks to complete their comeback from a 17-point second-half deficit and win, 97-95, against the visiting Pilgrims of New England College (6-7). Brochu scored a career-high 30 points in his 45-minute effort of a non-league men's basketball contest at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

Since he played every minute, Brochu's plus-minus (+2) was easy to compute in the two-point victory.

Salve Regina enjoyed a double-digit lead in the first half, 16-5, after senior Mikey Spencer (Abington, Mass.) delivered a driving layup for his third basket of the game. New England College senior Jamal Allen (Dorchester, Mass.) drain two 3-pointers to start a 17-2 run and the Pilgrims had a four-point lead, 22-18, at the 8:30 mark following a layup from freshman Alex Williams (Miramar, Fla.).

The extended run (23-4) included another trey from Allen at the 6:58 mark and an eight-point lead for the visitors, 28-20. In the first 20 minutes there was one tie and seven lead changes. Senior Calvin Cheek (Mattapan, Mass.) made a driving layup to give New England College the one-point lead at the break, 38-37.

Seahawk graduate student Cameron Collins (Montville, Conn.) opened the second half with an offensive rebound and put back for another lead change. Pilgrim sophomore Kyle Inglis (Burlington, Mass.) sank a 3-pointer from the wing before Spencer and Declan Walmsley (Franklin, Mass.) sandwiched 3-pointers around an Errol Crawford (Boston, Mass.) layup and the score was tied, 45-45, three minutes into the second half.

The Pilgrims outscored their hosts, 23-6, over the next 6:30 of the period. Inglis converted an old-fashioned three-point play before back-to-back treys from the far corner. Cheek also had a basket and drew a foul on the play for a free throw. Cheek's steal gave Williams a length of the floor drive for a layup and a 17-point bulge (68-51) with 10:29 on the clock.

Walmsley's fast break layup after a Jack Kruse (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) defensive rebound helped start the Seahawks on their way to chipping into the deficit, although the Pilgrim lead was back to 15 points (76-61) at the 5:49 mark following a Crawford fast break bucket in the paint.

Brochu and Spencer combined for the next 10 points and the Seahawks trailed by only five (76-71) at the 4:04 mark. Oh, sure, Seahawk head coach Sean Foster had called a timeout at 5:37. James Jolly (Kingston, England) had a layup at 3:09 with an assist from Brochu, and then Brochu's triple from the top tied the score at 77-all with 2:03 remaining in regulation.

Salve Regina took a two-point lead in the final minute following a pair of free throws from Collins, but Allen quickly retied the score with 30 ticks on the clock. Neither team got a shot attempt in the final half minute.

In overtime, Brochu fed Collins for a layup after Collins won the tipoff. Cheek turned around for a tying jumper before Brochu made his first of two threes in the extra five minutes. Salve Regina made five of six field goals in OT, including all three attempts from long range by Brochu (2) and Walmsley.

Allen had 10 of his team's 14 points in the overtime period and finished with 28 points. Inglis had 27 for the game with 23 coming in the second half.

Spencer finished with 29 points including 13-of-15 at the charity stripe, and made it a double-double with 11 rebounds. Collins had a double-double as well with 14 boards and a dozen points. Walmsley was an efficient six-of-nine from the floor, four-of-six from three-point range, and finished with 18 points.

Salve Regina will return to the hardwood in January when the Seahawks host the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology on the fourth day of the new year. New England College lost its third of its last four games but gets back to action against the Leopards on Wednesday at Boston, Massachusetts.