NEW LONDON, Conn.  -  In a NEWMAC match-up that had postseason action on the line, Coast Guard men's basketball outlasted visitors Salve Regina, 72-68, in the Bears' final home contest of the regular season. The tightly-contested game saw 15 lead changes throughout, with the largest lead during the evening's action being six points.

Coast Guard improves to 10-14 (6-9 NEWMAC) in their second go-around of the season with the Seahawks, while Salve moves to 9-15 (6-9 NEWMAC). The team from Newport gets to stay in Rhode Island for their regular season finale as they host Emerson College (11-13, 6-9 NEWMAC) this Saturday, February 22nd, in another game with playoff implications.

Coast Guard's 11-5 lead at 15:41 was turned around single-handedly by Seahawks' junior guard Sean Seymour (Albany, N.Y.), who drained back-to-back three-pointers to put Salve up 13-11. Seymour would score his team's next five points, as well, but the Bears were able to stay close thanks to a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Frazer (Columbia, S.C.) and a layup by senior guard Ben Yagey (Highlands Ranch, Colo.).

After some more battling, the Bears eventually got out to a 23-17 lead with 7:24 on the clock, but the Seahawks would take it back with a 7-0 run. Salve would hold on to the lead for most of the remaining time, but a mid-range jumper and a made free throw by Frazer would send Coast Guard into halftime with a 32-21 lead.

The Bears would extend their advantage to 46-41 during the first five minutes of the second half, but the Seahawks would go on the attack yet again. A three-pointer by freshman guard Anthony DeThomas (Narragansett, R.I.) cut the deficit down to two points, and Seymour would continue to be a thorn in Coast Guard's side by tying the game and then putting his team up by two with 11:55 remaining.

The two teams would grapple for control over the next couple of minutes before the score was tied yet again, this time at 53 with 8:16 to go. After both sides traded misses, Bears' senior guard Declan Rooney (Seattle, Wash.) took over and scored 12 of Coast Guard's 14 points over the next seven minutes, among them an ice-cold three-pointer with a Salve defender's hand in his face to put the Bears up six. Coast Guard was able to stay out of the Seahawks' reach, holding a 66-62 lead thanks to Rooney's efforts, but the job wasn't done yet.

With 55 seconds to go, junior forward Luke Farrell (Ortley Beach, N.J.) converted a layup thanks to an assist by Rooney, but Seymour would answer right away with a bank-in three-pointer. Junior guard Elijah Parent (Bristol, Conn.) would convert two free throws to put the Bears back up five, but a hectic next offensive possession would end in a layup and an and-one opportunity for Salve grad student forward Brad Fowler (Colden, N.Y.) with 12 seconds left, Coast Guard would inbound it to Rooney, and he was almost immediately and sent to the line. The senior was calm and collected, draining both of his free throws to finally put it out of reach for the Seahawks.

The battle was won on the inside, as both teams shot above 40% from the field and below 30% on three-pointers; the Bears shot better overall, converting 43.1% to Salve's 42.4%. Another big factor was turnovers, in which Coast Guard held a 10-16 advantage. 11 of those lost possessions for Salve were caused by steals, which is the third time the Bears have reached their season-high. Coast Guard also benefited from superior bench production, outscoring the Seahawks in that regard by a 22-15 margin.

Rooney would finish with a team-high 21 points (7-15 FG, 1-6 3PT, 6-6 FT), 19 of which came on 6-for-10 shooting in the second half to make up a chunk of his team's 30 points in the final 20 minutes. He also pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double and earned credit for seven assists, game-highs while matching his career-highs in both. Senior center Cameron Brown (Ellicott City, Md.) also had a memorable night in his potential final game at Roland Gymnasium, tallying two blocks and picking up five steals to match his career-high in the latter.

Parent also cracked double-digits, scoring ten points alongside two steals, but it was a well-rounded effort for a Coast Guard team that saw seven of their ten scoring players contribute at least five points. Farrell and junior guard Trevor Parks (Oldsmar, Fla.) also recorded two blocks in the win. Brown and Farrell will head into the final game day of the season as the no. 1 and no. 2, respectively, on the NEWMAC's total blocks and blocks per game leaderboards.

Seymour ended up with a game-high 27 points (9-19 FG, 3-8 3PT, 6-6 FT), while Fowler was the only other Seahawk in double-digits with 13 alongside his team-high six rebounds.

Coast Guard men's basketball travels to Babson College (15-9, 9-6 NEWMAC) on the final day of the regular season this Saturday, February 22nd. Both teams will face very different postseason circumstances in the match-up: Babson has clinched a NEWMAC Championship Tournament berth as the third seed, while the Bears are locked-up in a four-way tie for the final two spots. After tonight's action, Coast Guard holds the same conference record as Emerson, Wheaton (Mass.), and Salve.

Coast Guard lost a heartbreaker in New London during their first face-off of the season with the Beavers, in which they took the reigning conference champions to the brink in a 72-74 loss. Rooney was the team-leader in scoring and rebounds with 20 and seven, while freshman guard Colin Huang (Irvine, Calif.) made his presence known with a career-high 15 points.