Men’s Basketball Holds Off Salve Regina, 76-70

NEWPORT, R.I. – Well-balanced scoring with five Rams in double figures combined with stealthy defense down the stretch helped Suffolk men's basketball capture a 76-70 win over Salve Regina at the Rodgers Recreation Center Wednesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference. 

 THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 76 | Salve Regina 70
RECORDS: Suffolk (12-7, 7-5 CCC) | Salve Regina (7-12, 5-7 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk clutched to a seven-point gap, 15-8, at the midway point of the opening period. Over the next five minutes, the Rams found their grove offensively as they outscored the Seahawks, 17-4, to go up 32-12. 

The last five minutes before the teams trekked to the locker room evened out to a more back-and-forth affair, which sent Suffolk into the locker room up, 41-23. 

Salve Regina solved its sluggish offense during the intermission and kept the blue-and-gold on its toes as the Seahawks sliced the margin down to two, 45-43, with 13:46 left on the clock in regulation. 

The teams would trade points to keep things close the rest of the way. With 3:04 remaining, Mikey Spencer converted a four-point play to make it a one possession game, 67-64. Keenan Robertson came up huge for the Rams as he knocked down a trey of his down to restore the two-possession outing. 

Finesse on free throws and clock management the rest of the way allowed Suffolk to lock up the conference victory. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Robertson paced the Rams five players in double figures with a 17-ponit performance that went along with six boards, two steals, one assist and one block. 
• Aidan Sullivan had 13 points, four dimes and two caroms. He shot 3-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from 3-point land. 
• John Gates notched 12 points off the bench behind a 4-for-7 showing from downtown. 
• Cole LeVangie and Jake Gomez both put up 10 points. The former added seven rebounds, four helpers and one assist, while the latter tallied six boards, one handout and one steal. 
• William Rowe recorded 10 boards, five points and one block. 
• Suffolk outrebounded the Seahawks, 37-32. 
• Suffolk capitalized on its 10 offensive rebounds, turning them in 19 points. 
• The Seahawks converted the Rams' 20 turnovers into 27 points. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk defeated Salve Regina in back-to-back meetings for the first time since 1994-95. 
• The Rams moved to 13-14 all-time against Salve Regina. 
• On the road, the blue-and-gold is 4-9 against SRU. 
• Suffolk bested Salve Regina in Newport, Rhode Island, for the first time since Nov. 30, 1993, an 87-75 win. 
• Suffolk is 3-6 against Salve Regina in the Jeff Juron era. 

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk's road trip sends the Rams to Dudley, Massachusetts, Saturday, Feb. 4 for a 3:00 p.m. CCC match at Nichols.