The Lyons took advantage of an administrative technical foul on the Seahawks to jump out to a 1-0 edge before the opening tip, and then led 4-2 on a Justin Brown (Gorham, ME/Gorham) three-pointer. The remainder of the stanza remained relatively close, but the lead proved to be Wheaton's last in the opening half. Kelly picked up a steal and deposited it for an easy two to close the gap to one at 21-20, but the Seahawks used a 21-10 run to capture a double-digit advantage at the break. Freshman Justin Woodworth (Ipswich, MA/Ipswich) was 4-of-4 from the floor with two treys during the run, while junior Matt Grendal (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) chipped in six of his 13 first-half points to help lead Salve to a 42-30 halftime lead.
The Seahawks maintained a sizeable lead deep into the second half, but Wheaton began to chip away at its deficit with less than eight minutes left. Trailing by nine points, sophomore Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) stepped to the line and knocked down the front end of a one-and-one. His second attempt missed, but DiGiovanna was able to grab his own rebound, hit the lay-up, draw the foul and complete the three-point play. Not even a minute later DiGiovanna hit two more free throws to narrow the Wheaton gap to three at 59-56. DiGiovanna sparked a 13-6 run capped by a three from senior James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School) to bring the score to 65-63 with 1:08 on the clock.
Grendal hit a free throw with 32 seconds to go to put the guests in front, 66-63, but after missing the second freebie, Greenslit was fouled on the rebound and hit both of his ensuing free throws. The Lyons went into foul mode on defense, as the visitors missed their next three free throws. Greenslit was fouled grabbing the rebound on the third missed shot and eventually hit both of his free throws to give Wheaton its first lead since 18:23 of the first half. The lead was short-lived as the Seahawks inbounded the ball to sophomore Steve Walsh (Manchester, NH/Manchester Central), who drained a 10-foot jumper with three seconds to go. The Lyons were unable to get a shot off before time expired, sealing the one-point victory for Salve.
Kelly continued his all-around solid play with 15 points and six steals, while DiGiovanna was 6-of-7 from the charity stripe in his 14-point performance. Junior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) grabbed a career-best nine boards in the loss. As a team, the Lyons only turned the ball over six times compared to the Seahawks' 19 giveaways, and also recorded 14 steals to Salve's one.
Grendal led all scorers with 20 points and completed his double-double performance with a game-high 14 rebounds. Walsh finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and seven boards, while Woodworth rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points. The Seahawks shot well all game for a 53.1 percent clip while holding Wheaton to just 37.1 percent.
The Lyons begin the road portion of their schedule on Thursday at non-conference opponent Emerson College at 7:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Salve Regina University vs Wheaton College 11/29/05 7:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. At Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY 68, WHEATON COLLEGE 67 SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY (3-1) Matt Grendal 7-15 6-7 20; Steve Walsh 7-9 3-5 17; Justin Woodworth 5-5 0-0 13; Matt Coute 3-9 0-3 6; Quinn O'Brien 2-3 0-0 5; Chris Goodridge 2-5 0-1 4; Joe DeSantis 0-1 2-2 2; Jon Hazzard 0-0 1-2 1; Jay Pallotti 0-0 0-0 0; Andrew Rego 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-49 12-20 68. WHEATON COLLEGE (2-1) Sean Kelly 6-11 2-4 15; Brent DiGiovanna 4-8 6-7 14; Eric Johnston 2-3 2-2 7; Justin Brown 2-5 1-2 7; James Greenslit 1-8 4-4 7; Brian Zukowski 2-9 1-1 5; Jake Otto 2-4 0-0 4; Kristopher Pedra 2-5 0-2 4; Patrick McDonough 1-5 0-0 2; David Harding 1-3 0-0 2; Ryan McDonough 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 16-22 67. Salve Regina University....... 42 26 - 68 Wheaton College............... 30 37 - 67 3-point goals-Salve Regina University 4-11 (Justin Woodworth 3-3; Quinn O'Brien 1-1; Matt Coute 0-3; Chris Goodridge 0-2; Joe DeSantis 0-1; Matt Grendal 0-1), Wheaton College 5-26 (Justin Brown 2-4; Sean Kelly 1-2; Eric Johnston 1-1; James Greenslit 1-7; Kristopher Pedra 0-1; Patrick McDonough 0-4; Brian Zukowski 0-6; Brent DiGiovanna 0-1). Fouled out--Salve Regina University-None, Wheaton College-None. Rebounds-Salve Regina University 40 (Matt Grendal 14), Wheaton College 26 (Brian Zukowski 9). Assists-Salve Regina University 14 (Chris Goodridge 4), Wheaton College 12 (Sean Kelly 6). Total fouls-Salve Regina University 20, Wheaton College 21. A-285