Salve Regina sinks Coast Guard, 72-50

NEWPORT, R.I. - Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) led all players with 18 points as Salve Regina University men's basketball defeated visiting Bears of the United States Coast Guard Academy, 72-50, in non-league action at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) added his second double-double of the season (12 points, 15 rebounds) as the Seahawks dominated the boards, 45-to-31. Salve Regina (6-3) led from start to finish as Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) scored the game's first five points on a two-pointer and a 3-pointer.

Back-to-back fastbreak layups by Hohlfelder and Bielefeld put the Seahawks up by 13 (17-4) at the 12:19 mark. Hohlfelder's 3-pointer at the 9:50 mark stopped a 4-0 Bear run and started a 21-3 run for the Seahawks who enjoyed their largest lead of the half (27 points) at 1:59 when Bielefeld completed an old-fashioned three-point play for a 38-11 advantage.

Salve Regina's 43 points at the break were the most they have scored in a first half all season.

The Seahawks started the second half with a 12-6 run which included 3-pointers from Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.) and Brendan Canova (Edina, Minn.). Salve Regina led 55-26 after Canova's trey for its largest lead of the game at 13:10 in the second period.

Jimmy Knudsen (Ridge, N.Y.) started a 12-2 run for the visitors with his jumper at 12:53. Only Hohlfelder's layup at 8:23 kept the Seahawks from being shutout during the five and a half-minute span.

Salve Regina wins for the seventh time in 19 meetings with Coast Guard. Both schools were charter members of the Commonwealth Coast Conference in 1984.

Coast Guard, which suffers its seventh straight defeat, falls to 1-8 on the season. The Bears were led in scoring by freshman Joe Whitman (Columbia, Ill.) and senior Greg Marshall (Gaithersburg, Md.) with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Pringle and Bielefeld both finished with 12 points to join Hohlfelder in double-figures for Salve Regina. The Seahawks return to conference action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. contest at Curry College.