Engineers claim conference victory over Seahawks, 64-50

NEWPORT, R.I. (Wednesday, December 6, 2023) -- Declan Walmsley's (Franklin, Mass.) layup at 15:51 in the first gave Salve Regina University men's basketball the lead (2-0) in its first-ever NEWMAC contest but the visiting Engineers of Worcester Polytechnic Institute built a 13-point lead by halftime and eventually grew it to 22 before winning by a 64-50 final at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

WPI improves to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the league while the Seahawks' (5-4, 0-1 NEWMAC) modest two-game win streak ends with the 14-point setback. Both teams featured leading scorers off the bench - Justin Molen (Newark, Del.) with 14 points for the Engineers, and Sean Seymour (Albany, N.Y.) with a dozen for the Seahawks.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: WPI 64, Salve Regina 50
Records: Salve Regina (5-4, 0-1 NEWMAC), WPI (7-1, 1-0 NEWMAC)
All-Time Series: Salve Regina and WPI meet for the first of two times this season and 20th overall. The Engineers entered tonight's game with a 13-6 mark in the all-time series. Tonight was the first meeting since 2016. Salve Regina had a four-game win streak in the series interrupted by WPI in 2012. The Engineers were the second team (Bates College was the first on Nov. 21, 2000) to ever play Salve Regina men's basketball on the Rodgers Recreation Center hardwood on Nov. 28, 2000 - Seahawks won 86-63.

SUMMARY:

• 1H -  After both teams were scoreless for the first four minutes, Declan Walmsley made a layup following an offensive rebound for Clay Brochu. Justin Molen and Nathan Bledsoe both came off the bench to score eight and six points, respectively, for the Engineers. Miles Fiore led the Seahawks scoring efforts with two field goals and a free throw for five points. He also had five rebounds, with four off the defensive glass. | Engineers 33, Seahawks 20
• 2H -  Salve Regina scored the first five points after intermission to cut the deficit to eight points before a 23-11 run for the visitors had WPI up by 22 (58-36) with 4:05 remaining. Clay Brochu hit a 3-pointer at 3:50 to help the Seahawks finish the game with a 14-6 run. Brochu had five boards (four offensive caroms) and nine points in the second while Sean Seymour contributed eight of his team-high 12 points in the period along with five rebounds. | Engineers 64, Seahawks 50

NOTEWORTHY:

• Salve Regina turned the ball over 24 times.
• The Engineers outscored the Seahawks, 25 to 12, on points from turnovers.
• John Adams was held nearly 10 points below his scoring average, but led all players with 14 rebounds.
• Salve Regina got scoring from eight different players including all five starters.
• Sean Seymour led the Seahawks with 12 points in a reserve role.

QUOTING COACH FOSTER ON X

Seahawk head coach Sean Foster says ⁦@SalveBasketball⁩ can build on a lot of positives in ⁦@NEWMACsports⁩ loss to ⁦@WPIAthletics⁩ pic.twitter.com/1c3Av2SJsw

— Salve Regina Sports (@SalveAthletics) December 7, 2023

ON THE HORIZON:
Salve Regina hosts Clark University on Saturday, December 9, with a 1 p.m. tip-off.