Dinneen's 25 leads Salve Regina against Wheaton, 77-61

NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University junior forward Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) scored a career-high 25 points to lead the host team to a 77-61 victory over Wheaton College in a non-league meeting at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

Dinneen's classmate Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.) got the scoring started with a 3-pointer at 18:22 and Salve Regina led the rest of the way. Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) followed with a 3-pointer before William Smiley (Saunderstown, R.I.) and Pringle had layups.

Another Pringle 3-pointer preceded a pair of Dinneen free throws which were the top scorer's first points of the contest at 12:35. Dinneen made 6-of-9 from the floor including his only 3-point attempt; he scored nearly half his points at the line, making 12-of-16 attempts.

Dinneen finished the first-half scoring with a layup at the 1:01 mark and Salve Regina went into the break with a 16-point lead, 37-21. After getting blanked from behind the arc in its last game against Rhode Island College on Tuesday, Salve Regina made eight treys in the first half. Meanwhile, Wheaton only had one, from junior Will Bayliss (Manchester, N.H.) who led the Lyons at the half with seven points. Dinneen and Pringle both had 11 points at the break.

The teams played an even second half, both sides scoring 40 points. Dinneen scored two baskets during an opening 10-6 run. Freshman Doug Henton (New London, Conn.) ran the Seahawk offense and contributed a jumper during the first two minutes.

Mike O'Loughlin (Milford, N.H.) scored 11 of his team-high 17 points in the second period. Bayliss finished with a dozen points while Brian Johnson (Roxbury, Mass.) led the Lyons off the glass with seven rebounds. Wheaton, which had won its first five games this season, slips to 5-3 with its third straight defeat.

Pringle joined Dinneen in double figures with 16 points. Junior Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) ripped down 11 boards to lead all players. Dinneen added four rebounds, three assists, and four steals to his totals.

Salve Regina (5-2) shot over 53 percent for the game including 61.9 percent (13-of-21) in the second half. The Seahawks finished 9-of-17 (.529) from three-point range.

The Seahawks finish their fall semester schedule on the road at Connecticut College on Saturday (2 p.m.) while Wheaton plays another non-league game when it hosts Roger Williams University (1 p.m.).