NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University men's basketball senior forward Dan Royce (Mahwah, N.J.) converted layups on four straight touches in the second half to allow the Seahawks to take control and defeat visiting Gordon College, 63-55, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) regular season finale for both.

Salve Regina (14-10; 8-5 TCCC) held a 13-point lead just before the half, but Gordon (11-14; 7-6 TCCC) sophomore forward David Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.) converted a layup and free throw with three seconds left to cut the deficit to 10 (36-26).

Seahawk freshman Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) opened the second half scoring with a layup before Fighting Scots senior forward Greg Walker (Uxbridge, Mass.) led his team on a 16-1 run with four baskets for a three-point lead (42-39 at 11:51 mark).

Senior Ryan Birrell (Hope, R.I.) scored a layup and later converted a free throw to tie the score at 43-all before Royce became the go-to-guy for the Seahawks. After Dinneen and Dempsey traded layups, Birrell hit clutch 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring for a five-point lead (56-51 at 2:02 mark).

Junior guard Garrett Harden (Worcester, Mass.) brought the visitors within three (58-55) with his 3-pointer in the final minute, but the Seahawk defense led to easy layups for Dinneen and freshman Scott St. Lawrence (Littlefield, N.H.) to close out the contest.

"We've relied heavily on our upperclassmen all year for their leadership and intensity and today they came through again for us," said Seahawk head coach Sean Foster. "Ryan Birrell controlled the tempo for us, Dan Royce made some very strong moves in the second half and Windell Hinkson (Groton, Conn.) did an excellent job of defending on and off the ball down the stretch. Their efforts and composure really helped us have a good outcome today."

Walker finished with a game-high 15 points for Gordon which also got 13 and 12 points, respectively from Dempsey and Harden. The Scots enter the TCCC Championships as the No. 8 seed.

Dinneen led Salve Regina with 14 points while Birrell and Royce each scored 13 points. Birrell registered his team-leading third double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. The Seahawks earned the No. 5 seed and travel to No. 4 Regis College on Tuesday (7 p.m.).

Newspaper Box Score
Gordon vs Salve Regina
02/19/11 3:00 pm at Newport, R.I. - Rodgers Rec. Ctr.
At Newport, R.I. - Rodgers Rec. Ctr.      

SALVE REGINA 63, GORDON 55

GORDON (11-14; 7-6 TCCC)
Greg Walker 7-17 1-1 15; David Dempsey 4-13 5-9 13; Garrett Harden 4-10 0-0
12; Park Thomas 3-6 0-0 8; Austin Bentson 2-4 1-3 5; Caleb Perkins 1-1 0-0
2; Jon Himottu 0-0 0-0 0; Shaun Roach 0-1 0-0 0; Luke Hamilton 0-2 0-0 0;
Jordan Kelly 0-1 0-0 0; JT Himmelstein 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 7-13 55.

SALVE REGINA (14-10; 8-5 TCCC)
Patrick Dinneen 5-7 2-2 14; Dan Royce 6-11 1-2 13; Ryan Birrell 3-8 6-11 13;
Windell Hinkson 3-13 0-0 7; Scott St. Lawrence 3-4 0-2 6; Alex La Rosa 1-2
0-0 3; Jeff Bielefeld 1-4 1-2 3; William Smiley 1-1 0-0 2; John Williamson
1-1 0-0 2; Joshua Hohlfelder 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 10-19 63.

Gordon 26 29 55
Salve Regina 36 27 63

3-point goals--Gordon 6-17 (Garrett Harden 4-9; Park Thomas 2-3; Austin
Bentson 0-2; Shaun Roach 0-1; Luke Hamilton 0-2), Salve Regina 5-12 (Patrick
Dinneen 2-2; Windell Hinkson 1-7; Alex La Rosa 1-2; Ryan Birrell 1-1).
Fouled out--Gordon-Park Thomas; David Dempsey, Salve Regina-None.
Rebounds--Gordon 39 (Greg Walker 12; David Dempsey 12), Salve Regina 29
(Ryan Birrell 10). Assists--Gordon 13 (Park Thomas 6), Salve Regina 13 (Ryan
Birrell 5). Total fouls--Gordon 21, Salve Regina 19. Technical
fouls--Gordon-None, Salve Regina-None. A-522