Providence, R.I.-Junior
guard Eric Alleyne (Watertown, MA) buried back-to-back clutch
three-pointers late in the second half to give the Rhode Island
College men's basketball team a lead they wouldn't surrender, as the
Anchormen knocked off Salve Regina, 80-67, at The Murray Center on
Tuesday night in non-conference action.
Alleyne finished with 12 points, two
rebounds and two steals for Rhode Island College (5-4), while senior
guard Nyheem Sanders (Pawtucket, RI) racked up a team-high 15
points to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Junior
forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, NY) finished with 15
points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds, while
freshman guard Austin Cilley (Westerly, RI) posted 10 points,
a game-high six assists and two steals. Freshman forward Terrance
Tribble (White Plains, NY) added eight points on 4-of-4 shooting
off the bench to go along with three rebounds.
“Tribble changed the game for us
tonight with his energy and his intensity,” said Head Coach Bob
Walsh. “We found a level of toughness that we needed to win. We
haven't turned a corner, but we found a way to win tonight.”
Sophomore guard Barrett Hanlon
(Hopkinton, MA) poured in a game-high 20 points to go along with
four rebounds, four assists and four steals for Salve Regina (6-2),
who suffered its first loss of the season to a Div. III opponent.
Prior to Tuesday's matchup, the Seahawks only loss of the year came
at the hands of Div. I Bryant University.
Senior forward Jeff Bielefeld
(Littleton, MA) registered 14 points, 10 rebounds and two steals
for the visitors, while senior guard Patrick Dinneen (Medfield,
MA) finished with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Freshman forward Nicholas Bates (Danvers, MA) contributed
with four points, eight rebounds, five assists, one block and one
steal.
Although the Anchormen held a 32-30
lead coming out of halftime, the Seahawks picked up the intensity in
the opening minutes of the second half and went on a 19-12 run to up
their lead to seven. After the two squads exchanged baskets over the
next few minutes, a jumper from Hanlon at the 11:21 mark once again
gave Salve Regina a seven-point lead, 53-46.
Rhode Island College quickly turned
the tables on the Seahawks and bounced back with a 15-7 run of its
own, capped off by a pair of treys from Alleyne, to give the hosts a
61-60 lead with 6:53 left to play. RIC held onto the momentum from
Alleyne's clutch shooting and pulled away from Salve Regina down the
stretch, outscoring the visitors, 19-7, over the final stages of the
game.
