Men’s Hoops Staves Off Salve Regina to Earn 62-56 Victory

NEWPORT, R.I.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team picked up a 62-56 win at Salve Regina Thursday evening.

The Lions jump to 5-7 on the year and 2-3 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play with the result. The Seahawks slide to 4-7 overall and 2-3 in the league with the loss.

Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) tallied 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the floor while also grabbing three rebounds and adding two assists. Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) finished with 15 points and six boards. Josh Rice (Hanson, Mass.) added eight points and collected six rebounds in the game.

After a fast-paced start to the contest, the visitors built up a 12-5 lead with 15:46 remaining in the first half.

Salve Regina strung together a 7-0 run to knot the score at 22-22 with 4:55 left to play in the opening stanza as Gabriel Granberry converted two free throws.

Nathan Vazquez (Weymouth, Mass.) drilled a three-pointer just before the buzzer to give Eastern Nazarene a 31-27 edge at the break. The Lions sported a shooting percentage of 44.8% from the field despite a 1-for-10 performance from three-point range.

The guests stretched the margin to 16 points as a free throw by Patrick Michel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) capped off a 14-2 run.

The Seahawks battled back to pull even at 52-52 with 5:08 left to play as Rodney Morton banked in a put-back layup.

The two teams traded buckets before Doran gave Eastern Nazarene a 58-56 lead with 1:55 to go as he tossed in a layup.

Doran and Lynch each sank a pair of clutch free throws to secure the Lions' fifth win of the season and snap a three-game skid.

The Lions shot 49.0% from the floor and drained 2-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc on the night. The Seahawks finished with a field-goal percentage of 38.0% to go with 26.3% shooting from the perimeter.

Morton poured in a game-best 24 points to lead Salve Regina while Nicholas Bates contributed with 12 points and eight boards.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene returns to the hardwood January 7 to host Curry.