NEWPORT, R.I. - Trailing throughout the entire second half, Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball chipped away until senior Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) sank a pair of 3-pointers in front of his bench on consecutive possessions to put the Leopards on top of host Salve Regina University, 62-58.
Salve Regina graduate student Ryan Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) became the 15th Seahawk to reach the 1,000-point milestone when he connected on his first basket of the game at the 9:21 mark of the first half. His subsequent free throw gave the Seahawks a four-point lead, 18-14, as Salve Regina (8-6; 6-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference) ended the first period on an 18-7 run.
Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) and Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) scored the first baskets of the second half as Wentworth went on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes. Salve Regina outscored Wentworth (8-6; 4-3 CCC) by five points (16-11) over the next nine minutes, featuring three layups from Birrell and a pair of baskets from William Smiley (Saunderstown, R.I.).
The Leopards trimmed the deficit to five after a Donato steal and dunk and then a 3-pointer from Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine). With just under four minutes to play, freshman forward John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) sank a pair of free throws to draw the visitors within four, 54-50. Smiley's layup at 3:30 boosted Salve Regina back to a six-point lead but it was the last field goal for the Seahawks.
Donato had a layup at 3:03 and, following a Seahawk 3-point miss, Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) made one of two free throws. Prue tied the game at 56-56 with a 3-pointer at 1:47; 32 seconds later the Leopards were leading by three on another trifecta from Prue.
Seahawk freshman Brendan Canova (Edina, Minn.) made both free throws with 22 seconds left on the clock to draw Salve Regina within one, 59-58. Then the rookie guard rebounded a missed Leopard layup after a long inbounds pass, drove the length of the floor in six seconds before coming up short on a go-ahead layup attempt.
Johnson and Mayo closed out the scoring with three free throws. Mayo finished with a team-high 14 points while Donato and Prue had 12 and 11, respectively.
Birrell led all players with 18 points. Scott St. Lawrence (Litchfield, Mass.) added 12 points while Smiley ended with 10 for the Seahawks.
It was the first meeting between last year's conference finalists which featured a Seahawk overtime victory on the Leopards home court in Boston. Salve Regina travels to Dudley, Mass., for a CCC doubleheader with Nichols College on Thursday while Wentworth hosts Gordon College.
(Release Courtesy of Salve Regina Sports Information)
