BOSTON, Mass- Junior guard Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.) paced Salve Regina with a game high 20 points as the Seahawks were victorious Tuesday night over Commonwealth Coast Conference foe Wentworth 76-67. William Smiley (Saunderstown R.I.) finished the game with 17 points while chipping in nine rebounds.
Junior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) was the high scorer for the Leopards pouring in 19 points while registering a game high five assists. The only other Leopard in double figures on the night came from Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) who led all Wentworth bench scores with 10.
The early goings of the game went back and forth with six first-half ties and seven lead changes. The Leopards would tie the game at 17-17 off of a Dailon Wilson (Houston, Texas) layup, but were unable to gain the advantage with just over eight minutes left in the half.
Salve Regina would end the half on a 13-2 run, capped by a Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) 3-pointer to extend the lead to 41-24. The Seahawks were paced by a strong performance from Smiley, who poured in 13 of 17 points in the first half. Wentworth was led by senior Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) and Mayo, who both registered six points in the first frame.
The Seahawks were firing on all cylinders offensively in the first half, shooting just over 60 percent as a team and 57 percent from behind the arc. Salve was also able to sink nine of their first 12 free throws. Wentworth, however, connected on only 33 percent of their field goal attempts, while going just 2-for-10 from three point land. The Leopards did not attempt a free throw in the first half.
Wentworth would get its offense on track in the second half and make a complete turnaround, shooting 66 percent from the field while sinking four of their five three point attempts. The Leopards would use the offensive boost to claw their way back in the second half, lowering the score to 61-57, using a 17-3 run to get within four off a Matt Harte (Troy, N.Y.) layup.
The Black & Gold outrebounded Salve 31-28, but weren't able to bridge the gap in the second half. The lead would not be any lower than six the rest of the way as the Seahawks would finish on a 15-6 run over the final 4:17 to seal the win.
Four Seahawks saw double figures in Pringle and Smiley leading the way. Dinneen came off the bench to score 16 points and Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) chipped in 12.
Sophomore John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) added eight points, a team high two blocks and two steals, while Therriault had five assists and three steals to go along with six points. Mayo also had five assists and three steals in the loss.
With the loss Wentworth falls to 9-6 overall and 5-3 in league play. The Leopards are back in action with a CCC home match up against Curry on Saturday. The Seahawks improve to 8-6 with a league record of 4-3. Salve takes on Nichols on Thursday at home.
