Jan 09, 2016
NEWPORT, R.I. -- The University of New England connected on 13-of-28 shots (46 percent) from long distance on the way to an 85-68 win over Salve Regina University in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball action Saturday afternoon (Jan. 9) at the Rodgers Recreation Center.
With the win, the Nor'easters improve to 8-4 overall and 3-2 in league contests. The Seahawks drop to 5-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
Devin Thompson rebounded from his first-ever scoreless outing on Thursday with 20 points, including four treys. Gavin Dibble notched 20 points, as well, leading the UNE bench that out-scored the SRU substitutes by a 41-15 margin. Drew Coveney filled the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Matt Lettick also reached double digits, chipping in with 11 points.
Big Blue took full advantage of 15 Seahawks turnovers, converting them into 27 points going the other direction.
Salve Regina was paced by Nicholas Bates, who shared the game-high of 20 points and led all players with 14 rebounds. David Hanson and Connor Costello tallied nine points each for the home team.
After exchanging the lead in the early minutes, a basket by Lettick with 15:09 to play in the 1st half put UNE on top for the remainder of the game. A three-point play by Bates brought the Seahawks to within 21-18, but the Nor'easters countered with a 12-3 run to push the gap into double digits (33-21).
Coming out of a 39-32 deficit at halftime, Salve cut the margin to five on its initial three trips of the 2nd period, but could not get any closer. Eight in-a-row from Dibble bumped the spread to 51-38 (15:38), and it never dipped below 10 all the way to the finish.
UNE will hit the road again Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) when it travels to Nichols College.