NEWPORT, R.I. -

After leading early in the game and into the half, Coast Guard was unable to hold on as Salve roared back in the second half. The Seahawks win improves them to 6-9 on the year(3-3 NEWMAC). They will next travel to Babson College on Tuesday January 21st at 7:00 PM to face the Beavers.

For CGA, this was the third time in their last four games in which the game ended with a one possession score. 

Early on, neither squad could get anything going on offense. In the first half the Bears and Seahawks combined to shoot 28.1% from the field and 12.5% from three. Despite the shooting woes, Coast Guard gutted their way to halftime with a 23-17 lead. Their defense paved the path for the offense with nine of their 23 points coming off of a turnover. Salve in turn, had no such points. On the day, the Bears had seven steals and six blocks as a team. Declan Rooney(Seattle, WA) paced the squad with three steals with Luke Farrell(Ortley Beach, NJ) leading the way in blocks with four.

In the second half, the Bears shooting woes would continue but the Seahawks would not. After shooting 9-28 from the field in the first, Coast Guard shot 9-27 in the second. Salve on the other hand, improved their field goal percentage from 24.1%(7-29) in the first to 52%(13-25) in the second. Salve would chip away throughout the second half with the Bears never letting up but ultimately the lead would be lost for CGA with 6:46 remaining. They would take the lead back twice, both on made free throws: at 5:07 when Luke Farrell sunk two to make the score 42-40 Bears and at 4:39 when Colin Huang(Irvine, CA) made both of his free throws to take a 44-42 lead. 

The final four minutes were a gritty battle for the two teams, with ties at both 48-48 and 50-50. Tied at 50-50 with under a minute remaining, Salve scored three unanswered points. With 34 seconds remaining, they had possession, and appeared poised to put the Bears away. That is when Coast Guard showed their never quit way and flipped the momentum on it's side. Off of the inbound, freshman defensive standout Colin Huang and veteran guard Elijah Parent(Bristol, CT) trapped the Salve inbound receiver, forcing a dangerous pass which reigning NEWMAC defensive player of the week Declan Rooney was in perfect position to steal and pass the ball to Luke Farrell under the basket who not only made the basket but was fouled doing so. He made the subsequent free throw to tie the score 53-53 with just 27 seconds remaining. 

In the Salve final possession, after 25 seconds of suffocating defense by the Bears, Seahawks guard Jack McMullen(East Greenwich, RI) hit a contested layup to take the lead with just one second remaining. On the resulting baseball pass towards the basket, Coast Guard was unable to get a shot off or tip the ball in the basket giving Salve the 55-53 win. 

In the hard fought loss, Coast Guard was led on offense by their forwards. Luke Farrell had 17 points with Cameron Brown(Ellicott City, MD) just behind with 11. Brown also led in rebounds with eight while Farrell led in assists with four.

Coast Guard will get back at it Tuesday January 21st at home vs Wheaton College at 7:00 PM.