Smiley career-high 32 pts; Seahawks win 86-75

DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior William Smiley (Saunderstown, R.I.) dropped in a game-high 32 points to pace the Salve Regina University men's basketball team to an 86-75 victory over Nichols College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Tuesday evening at the Nichols Athletic Center

Smiley went 12-of-16 from the floor (75 percent) and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. The 6-foot-3 captain added six rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals in 35 minutes of action. Junior Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) chipped in with 16 points and six rebounds while junior Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) snared a game-high 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. 

Freshman Irving Eggleston (East Lyme, Conn.) scored a career-high 17 points for Nichols. Junior Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) added a team-high 20 points for the Bison (12-11, 7-9 CCC), who suffered their third-straight loss. The squad was outrebounded 44-22 on the evening and struggled defensively as the Seahawks shot 53 percent.

The first half featured seven lead changes and closed with the Seahawks holding a 38-32 advantage. Sophomore Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) put the Bison ahead 28-27 with a three-pointer at 6:31, but eight points from Smiley sparked an 9-0 Salve Regina run that gave the visitors a 36-28 lead late in the stanza.

In the second half, the Seahawks opened up a 10-point lead on a basket by Smiley three minutes in. The lead swelled to 14 following a triple by Smiley less than two minutes later. The Bison cut their deficit to six points (65-59) with 7:33 to go behind a triple and a three-point play from Sheehan, but junior Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.) sank three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt to give SRU a 12-point lead with five minutes remaining. Nichols never cut its deficit below seven the rest of the way.

Pringle finished with 14 points – including three 3-pointers – while sophomore Brendan Canova (Edina, Minn.) filled the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds and five dimes. Salve Regina drained 21 of its 27 free throw attempts.

For Nichols, senior Justin Kuntz (Wallingford, Conn.) and junior Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) each scored seven points and recorded two steals. The Bison shot 44 percent on the evening and sank all 12 of their free throw attempts.

The Bison close out the home portion of the regular season schedule with a 7:30 p.m. contest against the Nor'easters of the University of New England Thursday. The Seahawks head to Wenham, Mass. for a 7:30 p.m. contest with Gordon on Thursday.