NEWPORT, R.I. - Windell Hinkson (Groton, Conn.) led all players with 23 points and had his second straight game with six 3-pointers to lead Salve Regina University men's basketball to an 82-68 win over visiting Curry College in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) action.
The Colonels (4-18; 2-8 TCCC), who lost their ninth straight game, got off to a 9-2 start at the Rodgers Recreation Center behind a pair of layups from senior forward Chris Bonadies (Medfield, Mass.).
Hinkson sandwiched two 3-pointers during a 10-0 Seahawk run in a 1:07 span to put Salve Regina up three (12-9). Another Bonadies layup capped a 15-5 run for Curry which built its lead to seven again (24-17) with 8:37 left in the first half.
Freshman guard Alex La Rosa (Salem, N.H.) converted an offensive rebound into a layup at the 3:11 mark to bring Salve Regina within one (30-29); he was subsequently fouled before Curry inbounded the ball and the Seahawks were in the double bonus. La Rosa sank both free throws to give Salve Regina a lead it would never relinquish.
After Mike Worrick's (N. Grafton, Mass.) layup brought the Colonels within four (62-58) with 9:06 left in the second half, Salve Regina (12-9; 6-4 TCCC) went on a 10-0 in a two-minute span with 3-pointers from Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.), Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.), and Hinkson. Hinkson's 3-pointer at the 4:11 mark gave Salve Regina its largest lead (75-60) before the Seahawks maintained possession for over a minute with several offensive rebounds.
"We did a good job getting offensive rebounds in the last five minutes off misses," said Seahawk head coach Sean Foster shortly after the contest.
Freshman Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) led the Seahawks with nine rebounds. Senior point guard Ryan Birrell (Hope, R.I.) nearly had a double-double with 18 points and nine assists. He punctuated his season-high assist total by feeding Hinkson in the corner for the fellow senior's final 3-pointer.
"He's (Hinkson) been hitting big shots for us all year," Foster added. "He's done a great job recently hitting some timely three's down the stretch. Ryan Birrell has done a great job creating opportunities for him. When you have two guys who are used to playing with each other, it can help a ton. They really find each other on the court."
Salve Regina climbed into a five-way tie for fourth place in the league and hosts one of those teams (Endicott College) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
"We have three more conference games, and they're all going to be big. We're battling for a playoff spot. Our first goal is to get into that top eight and give ourselves a chance to compete in the conference tournament."
Bonadies had team highs in points (18) and rebounds (nine) while sophomore guard Sedale Jones (Pittsfield, Mass.) added 14 points. Curry has its final home game of the regular season on Saturday when it hosts Wentworth. The Leopards are currently tied for second with a 7-3 conference record.
Newspaper Box Score
Curry vs Salve Regina
02/08/11 8:00 pm at Newport, R.I. - Rodgers Rec. Ctr.
At Newport, R.I. - Rodgers Rec. Ctr.
SALVE REGINA 82, CURRY 68
CURRY (4-18; 2-8 TCCC)
Chris Bonadies 8-13 2-5 18; Sedale Jones 4-14 6-8 14; Kenny Hull 4-11 0-0 9;
Mike Worrick 3-5 0-0 7; Michael Connery 3-9 0-0 6; Eric Guglielmello 2-4 1-2
5; Axel Allen 1-5 1-2 3; Chris Brown 1-2 0-0 2; Andrew Veilleux 1-1 0-0 2;
John Durkin 1-1 0-0 2; Mike Guerin 0-1 0-0 0; Mike McCarthy 0-0 0-0 0; Dan
Ockene 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 10-17 68.
SALVE REGINA (12-9; 6-4 TCCC)
Windell Hinkson 8-18 1-2 23; Ryan Birrell 7-8 4-10 18; William Smiley 4-7
1-1 9; Jeff Bielefeld 4-5 1-2 9; Dan Royce 3-3 0-0 6; Patrick Dinneen 1-2
2-5 5; Joshua Fuhrmeister 1-2 2-2 5; Alex La Rosa 1-3 2-2 4; Isiah Pringle
1-3 0-0 3; Scott St. Lawrence 0-2 0-0 0; Joshua Hohlfelder 0-2 0-0 0; John
Williamson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-56 13-24 82.
Curry 33 35 68
Salve Regina 38 44 82
3-point goals--Curry 2-16 (Mike Worrick 1-3; Kenny Hull 1-3; Michael Connery
0-5; Axel Allen 0-1; Sedale Jones 0-4), Salve Regina 9-21 (Windell Hinkson
6-13; Joshua Fuhrmeister 1-1; Isiah Pringle 1-2; Patrick Dinneen 1-2; Joshua
Hohlfelder 0-1; John Williamson 0-1; William Smiley 0-1). Fouled
out--Curry-Mike Worrick; Axel Allen, Salve Regina-None. Rebounds--Curry 28
(Chris Bonadies 9), Salve Regina 44 (Jeff Bielefeld 9). Assists--Curry 12
(Sedale Jones 5), Salve Regina 15 (Ryan Birrell 9). Total fouls--Curry 23,
Salve Regina 16. Technical fouls--Curry-None, Salve Regina-None. A-358