Statistics

NEWPORT, R.I. -- The University of New England trailed by 13 less than five minutes into the contest, but had a slim lead at halftime and went on to an 89-78 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball decision against Salve Regina University on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) at the Rodgers Rec. Center.

With the win, the Nor'easters (4-7) draw even at 2-2 in league outings. The Seahawks now stand at 6-6 on the year, 3-2 in CCC action.

It was 15-2 in favor of Salve after just 4:40 of play, but UNE tallied 19 of the next 25 points to knot the score at 21-all. The visitors had shifted in front (40-36) by intermission, benefiting from SRU going 8-of-20 at the free throw line in the period.

A 9-1 spurt of three-pointers during the initial portion of the 2nd half gave the Nor'easters a permanent advantage (58-50). The hosts got as close as four (68-64) with 6:41 to go, but the gap was at least double that during the final 3:19.

Gavin Dibble led the UNE victory with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and 6-of-6 freebies. Drew Coveney contributed 11 points and eight rebounds. Out of the 15 players to find the scoring column, Ryan Beatty was the next highest with nine points.

The Nor'easters out-scored the Seahawks by 18 from behind the arc (39-21) and nine at the charity stripe (26-17), where SRU netted slightly more than half (53%) of its tries.

Salve Regina (6-6, 3-2 CCC) was guided by 29 points from Rodney Morton, who drained five triples and registered 17 of his total following halftime. Isaiah Bowman and Cameron Collins recorded 15 and 11 points, respectively. In addition to nine points, Kevin Kelly had 13 rebounds to pace a 50-36 edge on the glass.

UNE is slated to visit Eastern Nazarene College on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.).