NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half as Nichols College held off a late rally to defeat Salve Regina University, 73-70, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) contest at the Rodgers Recreation Center.
Senior William Smiley (Saunderstown, R.I.) posted a double-double for Salve Regina (8-7; 4-4 CCC) with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Juniors Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) and Isiah Pringle (Queens, N.Y.) paced the Seahawks with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Pringle went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Trailing 7-4 after the 17:00 mark, Pringle started a 9-0 Seahawk run with his first successful jumper at 16:29. Classmates Joshua Hohlfelder (Noank, Conn.) and Dinneen both followed with layups before Dinneen added a 3-pointer.
Nichols (9-6; 4-4 CCC) then had its own 16-2 run over a 3:46 span to take a double-digit lead (23-13 at 5:58). The Bison had four 3-pointers in that run with two coming from sophomore guard Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.). Bennett also included a layup to score eight of his 11 points for the game.
Smiley hit a jumper at 5:04 that started a 15-6 run to end the half for the Seahawks. Dinneen had a pair of treys with the last one coming at 1:38 for the final points of the half, Salve Regina trailing 29-28.
The first nine baskets in the second half all came in the paint as the Bison outscored the Seahawks, 14-4, to forge their largest lead (43-32 at 15:41). Sheehan's offense got in gear at 16:29 with a layup followed by another at 15:41.
A 10-4 run for the Seahawks over a 2:26 span featured Pringle's two 3-pointers and cut the deficit to five (47-42 at 12:21).
Bennett answered with a 3-pointer at 12:03 before a Smiley layup at 6:41 had narrowed the gap to four, 55-51.
Sheehan scored three more baskets during a 10-4 run that rebuilt the double-digit advantage for the visitors who have now won three straight and four out of five.
Salve Regina outscored Nichols, 10-2, during a two-minute run that started with 3:18 left in the second. Dinneen hit a shot behind the arc and completed the run with an old-fashioned three-point play, drawing the Seahawks within two, 67-65, with 1:13 remaining.
Sheehan hit a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left and then traded free throws with Pringle. Brendan Canova (Edina, Minn.) swished a 3-pointer with 16 ticks left and Nichols now leading 72-70. The Bison advanced the ball across the timeline before the Seahawks were able to foul Gustave Koumare (Harlem, N.Y.) with four seconds on the clock.
Koumare missed the first and made the second from the line. After a Seahawk timeout, Canova's bid to tie the game with a 3-point attempt from the left side came up short as time expired.
Three other Bison joined Sheehan in double figures with Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) scoring 12 points, Bennett and Jessy Michaud (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) both chipping in 11 points. Salve Regina outrebounded the visitors, 57-to-37, paced by a dozen caroms for Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.).
Hohlfelder finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Nichols will host Gordon College on Saturday while Salve Regina travels to Bristol, R.I., to take on its intra-state rival Roger Williams University.