Western New England Defeated by Salve Regina, 77-70

Four Golden Bears score in double figures, led by Pettway's 16 points

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 10, 2019) – The Salve Regina University men's basketball team hit key shots down the stretch to claim a 77-70 win over Western New England University on Thursday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
Western New England's balanced offense featured four double-figure scorers, led by senior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.), who recorded a team-high 16 points, four assists and two rebounds off the bench.

Juniors Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) and Tim Reilly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) finished with 13 points each, while freshman Antonio Brancato (Fairfield, Conn.) had 12.

Salve Regina was led by freshman forward Mikey Spencer (Abington, Mass.), who produced a game-high 20 points, five rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes off the bench.

Sophomore forward Cameron Collins (Oakdale, Conn.) tallied 16 points, five steals and four rebounds, while freshman guard Mike Palmieri (Bristol, Conn.) contributed 15 points.

Game Review
Salve Regina capitalized on several early Western New England turnovers to open up a 6-0 lead just over two minutes into the contest. The Seahawks stretched their advantage to nine (17-8) following a Collins layup at the 12:49 mark, and they still led by eight (28-20) after a Collins jumper with 7:03 left in the half.

The Golden Bears responded with a 10-0 run, pulling ahead for the first time (30-28) on a layup by Brancato with just under five minutes on the clock.

Salve Regina outscored Western New England 11-4 the rest of the way, however, and sophomore Kevin Kelly (Valhalla, N.Y.) knocked down a triple in the closing seconds of the half to put the visitors up 39-32 at the break.

The Golden Bears quickly erased their deficit with a 7-0 run to start the second half, and after a Spencer layup briefly gave the Seahawks the lead back (41-39), Pettway scored eight straight points to stake Western New England to its biggest advantage of the night (47-41).

Salve Regina, which trailed 50-44 following a McGuire jumper at the 12:33 mark, posted a 9-0 run that featured two Palmieri triples to regain a 53-50 edge with 9:48 to play.

The lead changed hands five times over the next seven minutes of action, with Western New England pulling ahead for the final time (69-68) on a Brancato layup with 2:48 remaining.

Following a Salve Regina timeout, Spencer drained a clutch three-pointer to put the Seahawks in front for good, and Kelly added a jumper to make it 73-69 with 1:44 to go.

Western New England went cold late and the visitors tacked on free throws down the stretch to seal the road win.

Notes
• Salve Regina shot 57.7 percent from the field, while the Golden Bears connected on 48.3 percent of their shots.
• Brancato continued his strong play with his sixth double-figure scoring effort in the last seven games.

Up Next
Western New England (4-11, 1-6 CCC) travels to Curry on Saturday, while Salve Regina (7-8, 3-3 CCC) hits the road to take on Endicott.