Men's Basketball Falls In Home Opener To Salve Regina, 65-62

Worcester, MA --- Salve Regina graduate student Isiah Pringle (Queens, NY) came off the bench to score a game high 19 points including five three-pointers to help defeat Worcester State this afternoon, 65-62, in non-conference men's basketball action at Laska Gymnasium.

The Seahawks improve to 2-2 in the victory while the Lancers fall to 1-2 with the defeat.

Sophomore Nicholas Bates (Danvers, MA) dropped 13 points in the win while freshmen teammates Bryce Boggs (Hyde Park, MA) and Adam Quinlan (E. Walpole, MA) each added 10 for the Seahawks who saw four players reach double figures in the balanced attack.

Pringle was efficient in his effort, knocking down 5 of 7 from 3-point range and 6 of 9 overall in 22 minutes of action.

Sophomore Marquez McKreith-Collins (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) led Worcester State with 18 points and seven rebounds as freshman Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) and senior Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Mission) each notched 14 points and eight boards in the set back.

The Blue and Gold led for much of the contest and jumped ahead by as many as 11 points with 14:18 left in the second half (46-35).

Sparked by several Lancer turnovers and missed opportunities on offense, Salve Regina used a 18-7 run over a span of nine minutes to take their first lead of the afternoon on the back of a Quinlan jump shot with 5:59 left (53-52).

The visitors parlayed nine WSU miscues into nine points and the hosts sank just three-of-nine at the foul stripe while missing all four of their three-point attempts.

After a McKreith-Collins free throw tied the score, Pringle knocked down a mid-range jumper from the elbow with 4:26 left to put the Seahawks up for good, 55-53.

Freshman Rodney Morton (Malden, MA) buried a key trey a minute later to give Salve its' largest lead of the contest, 58-53.

The Blue and Gold cut the deficit to as little as one point in the final stretch and had a chance to send the game to overtime in the final seconds, but a deep, contested three-point field goal attempt by senior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) rimmed off to preserve the Seahawks comeback win.

Salve Regina helped their cause in the final minute of the contest knocking down 5 of 7 free throws – including a pair by Pringle with 13 seconds left that forced the Lancers to go for a trifecta in the waning moments.

The Lancers got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 12-4 advantage in the first four minutes of the game capped off by a put back layup by Brooks, who contributed four of his five blocks in the opening stanza.

Following a jumper by Rios, who netted eight points in the first half, the Blue and Gold opened up their largest advantage (25-13) before settling with the 35-26 margin at the break.

Worcester State dominated the paint (34-24) and the backboards (45-26), but the Seahawks netted one third of their offense off of 25 WSU miscues with 22 points.  

Salve Regina knocked down 39 percent of their shots overall (23-for-59), seven of their 19 attempts from three point land (37 percent) and 12 of their 17 tries from the charity stripe (71 percent).

The Lancers did hit 42 percent of their shots for the game (22-for-52), but only three of their 18 bids from downtown. After going nine-for-12 from the free throw line in the opening stanza, the hosts went cold, converting just one of their 10 opportunities.

Both teams are taking on NEWMAC opponents Tuesday, November 25 in their final games before the brief Thanksgiving break. Worcester State travels to cross town rival WPI for a 7:00 PM tipoff. Meanwhile, Salve Regina hosts the Coast Guard for a 7:30 PM tipoff.

Story By Michael Corso '12 - Sports Information Intern