WNEC Runs Past Salve Regina, 96-85

NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior Brendan Murphy (West Springfield, Mass.) scored a team-high 22 points and junior Brad Thomka (Springfield, Mass.) added 20 points to lead Western New England College to a 96-85 win over Salve Regina University in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Rodgers Recreation Center.

The Golden Bears shot 60.7 percent (34-of-56) from the field to improve to 9-7 (4-1 TCCC) on the season and grab a 3-2 lead in the all-time lead against Salve Regina. Graduate student Jabreche Boyd (West Haven, Conn.) poured in a game-high and career-high 35 points for the Seahawks, who slipped to 2-14 (1-4 TCCC) on the season.

"I thought we had a total defensive breakdown today," said Salve Regina head coach Sean Foster. "Anytime you give up close to 100 points with limited three's, it's a problem. Our guys defended well for about 10 minutes, but we need to play 40 to get wins in this league."

Western New England knocked down 63.0 percent of its shots in the first half and took a 44-34 lead to the locker room following a three-pointer from junior Chris Devine (Wilbraham, Mass.) at the buzzer. Murphy paced the Golden Bears with 13 points in the half while Thomka, Devine, and sophomore Andre Shaw (Jamaica, N.Y.) each scored seven. The Seahawks were led by junior Dan Royce (Mahwah, N.J.) and sophomore Austin Hall (Coventry, Conn.), each of whom scored 12 points.

Boyd began to assert himself early in the second half, scoring 10 points in the first 3:43 to cut the Seahawk deficit to four at 50-46. WNEC answered with a 17-4 run to take a 67-50 lead with 11:36 to play, led by eight points from Johnson. The Seahawks were able to cut the deficit to 13 following a pair of Boyd free throws with 10:12 to play, but a 21-10 run by WNEC put them up 88-66 with just over five minutes remaining.

Senior Rick Johnson scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to spark the Golden Bears and also dished out three assists, while Devine snared seven of his game-high nine boards in the final 20 minutes. Boyd, meanwhile, scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half and finished the game 14-of-19 from the charity stripe. Royce finished with 19 points while Hall's 16 points more than doubled his previous career-high. Junior Ryan Birrell (Hope, R.I.) dished out a game-high 11 assists for Salve Regina.

"Being a fifth-year senior and a guy who scored a little bit last year, we were definitely expecting some production out of Jabreche this year. He is starting to shoot the ball really well," said Foster. "As far as WNEC goes, they are very unselfish. They push the tempo and are outstanding passing the ball, as is evident by their 18 assists today. They're going to be very strong in the conference."

The Seahawks return to action on Thursday when they travel to Wentworth for a 7:30 contest. The Golden Bears play at Nichols Thursday evening at 6 p.m.