Seahawks overtake Scots in 2nd for 73-63 win

WENHAM, Mass. - In a battle of unbeaten men's basketball teams today between Gordon College and visiting Salve Regina University, the Seahawks triumphed by ten, 73-63, to improve to 6-0 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).

Though both teams traded leads in the opening five minutes of action, Salve Regina took and held the lead throughout most of the half, stretching it to as many as seven with just under eight minutes to play.

The Scots rallied back, however, to overtake the lead with 1:42 on the clock after a 3-pointer from Luke Hamilton (So./Mount Airy, N.C.) made it 39-38. That bucket proved to be the last of the half, as both teams buckled down on defense to leave Gordon up by one at the break.

Opening the second half with back-and-forth buckets and leads, Gordon took over and used a 17-7 run to establish a 58-49 advantage with just over 12 minutes to play. Salve Regina then netted 13 unanswered points over the next nine minutes, six of which came from William Smiley (Jr./Saunderstown, R.I.), to once again take control of the game, 62-58.

With Gordon's offense having gone cold in the final 12 and half minutes, Salve Regina would never again relinquish the lead, handing the Scots their first CCC loss of the season.

Gordon's effort was led by Alex Carnes (So./Phoenix, Ariz.) who posted 21 points and seven boards in the outing, while David Dempsey (Jr./Wallingford, Conn.) recorded 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Salve Regina's win was paced by Ryan Birrell (Gr./Scituate, R.I.) with 18 points, five rebounds, and six assists and Patrick Dinneen (So./Medfield, Mass.) with 12 points and five rebounds.

The Scots return to the court on Tuesday, January 17 as they travel to nearby Beverly, Mass. to face CCC rival Endicott College at 8 p.m. The Seahawks, now 8-5 overall, 6-0 in conference, host Wentworth on the same day at 8 p.m.