Seahawks downed by host at Babson Invitational

BABSON PARK, Mass. – Despite a team-high 16 points from junior Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.), the Salve Regina men's basketball team fell to host Babson College, 74-62, in the semifinal round of the 2012 Babson Invitational Men's Basketball Tournament at Staake Gymnasium on Saturday night.

With the win, Babson (1-0) advances to Sunday's Championship Game at 4 p.m., while the Seahawks (1-1) will play in the Consolation Game at 2 p.m.

Salve Regina was led by Pringle, who hit 4-of-7 from three-point range on his way to a 16-point, three-steal performance. Senior William Smiley (Saunderstown, R.I.) and junior Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) each added 14 points for the Seahawks, with Smiley also chipping in team-highs of nine rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) led all players with 27 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 9-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the foul line. First-year Travis Sheldon (Woodstock, N.Y.) added 15 points while hitting 5-of-10 from the field in his first collegiate contest, and sophomore David Mack (Holden, Mass.) added 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Junior transfer Kenny Ross (Furlong, Pa.) scored nine points and dished out a game-high eight assists in his Babson debut, and sophomore Ryan Stowe (Shrewsbury, Mass.) chipped in with four points and five rebounds.

Down three just over five minutes into the contest, Babson erupted for a 10-0 run that turned a 9-6 deficit into a 16-9 lead that the Beavers would not relinquish the rest of the night. Wickey capped the run with back-to-back three-pointers, and his third trifecta later in the period gave the hosts a 24-13 advantage. The Beavers eventually led by as many as 17 late in the frame before taking a 41-26 advantage into the break.

Babson appeared to be on its way to an easy blowout win after a conventional three-point play by Mack pushed its lead to 20 at 48:28 with 18:33 left in the second stanza, but Salve Regina came storming back to get within four with two minutes to go. Back-to-back threes by first-year Doug Henton (Gales ferry, Conn.) fueled a 9-0 run that trimmed the Beavers' lead to single digits at 52-43 with 11:47 to go, and after Babson went back up by 13, Pringle hit a pair of triples during an 8-0 burst that cut it to just five, 58-53, with 4:25 on the clock.

Later in the period, Hohlfelder sank two free throws that made it a four-point game, 63-59, with 2:02 remaining, but that would be as close as the Seahawks would get the rest of the way. Sheldon hit a slashing pull-up jumper in the lane to give Babson some breathing room with 1:47 to go, and a lay-up by junior Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) coupled with a free throw by Wickey make it 68-59 with 42 seconds left. Another three-pointer by Pringle cut it back to six moments later, but Babson finished the game with six straight points from the foul line to clinch the 74-62 victory.

Release Courtesy of Babson Sports Information