BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) led four double figure scorers with 16 points to help pace the Salve Regina men's basketball team to a 61-53 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both squads.
With the win the Seahawks improve to 5-1 on the season while the Leopards see their record dip to 2-4.
Salve Regina built three, five-point leads in the early going before Wentworth used five straight points from junior Ray Bessette (Dedham, Maine) to even the score at 5-all. After Hohlfelder hit a 3-pointer to break the tie, senior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) converted a layup to cut the lead to one (12-11) with 15:27 left.
The Seahawks would score the next six points, capped off by a Hohlfelder basket, to up their lead to seven with 11:23 left and took an eight-point lead with 5:56 left when senior Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) was on the receiving end of a long outlet pass off a defensive rebound by sophomore Chris O'Keefe (Lexington, Mass.).
Sophomore Cam Sennick (Wilton, Maine) hit a jumper and freshman Jherson Colon (Boston, Mass.) buried three free throws to pull the hosts within three, however Salve Regina would score the next five points to build the lead back to eight before a Colon three late in the half made it a 32-27 game at the break. Over the first 20 minutes the Seahawks shot 52 percent from the floor and held the Leopards to 37 percent.
Wentworth cut the lead to one with 16:10 left on a basket by sophomore Ronnie Turner (Lewiston, Maine) before Salve Regina outscored Wentworth by a 14-5 margin over the next seven minutes and taking a 48-38 lead on a freshman Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.) basket.
Sennick answered with a basket of his own before Hohlfelder brought the lead back to 10. Five points from Colon and a junior Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) layup off a Colon steal brought the Black & Gold within three at 50-47. The Leopards had a pair of chances – both off Seahawk turnovers – to pull within one or tie the game, but could not convert, leading to an 8-0 run that gave Salve Regina an 11-point lead with 3:07 left.
Hohlfelder was 7-for-9 from the floor and also grabbed four rebounds. Dinneen and Hanlon scored 12 apiece for the visitors with Hanlon grabbing four rebounds, dishing out five assists, and recording five steals. Senior Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
Colon led all scorers with 17 points to go along with two assists and two blocks. Mayo had 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals while Bessette and Turner finished with seven points apiece. The Leopards shot 36.5 percent from the floor as opposed to 52.2 percent for the Seahawks and were outrebounded by a 33-27 margin.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday as Wentworth hosts Curry and Salve Regina is at Roger Williams.
