Box Score NEWPORT, RI - The SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball team was defeated by the Salve Regina University Seahawks on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 77-56. 
 
The game got off to a unique start with the Seahawks being assessed a technical foul prior to tip-off, resulting in a free throw for the Panthers, giving them the first point of the game courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Rader. 
 
From there, the Panthers got the ball to start and worked their offense relatively effectively as the half got underway. Both sides traded baskets for several minutes. The Seahawks began to pull away with a small lead of three points near the midway point in the half. Elijah Canady hit a big three-pointer off the bench to bring the game back to even. 
 
As the first half moved on, the Panthers would find themselves stuck offensively as the Seahawks continued to capitalize. The Panthers went about two minutes without a point as the Seahawks pulled away, growing their lead and not looking back.
 
The points trickled in for both sides as the clock wound down in the first half but the Panthers could not find ways to make up ground on the Seahawks. Ultimately Salve Regina held onto their lead going into halftime by a score of 39-24. 
 
It was more of the same in the second half for the Panthers as they found themselves struggling offensively. The team shot the ball 38 percent in the second half from the floor and 31 percent from behind the arc. The Panthers did manage to force seven turnovers from the Seahawks but it was no match for the high powered Salve Regina offense which shot just under 50 percent throughout the second half. 
 
Some key performers for the Seahawks were Declan Walmsley, who put up a game high 20 points for his team as well as eight rebounds and three assists. Additionally, James Jolly had 12 points, two rebounds, and three assists while also helping his team defensively with two takeaways. 
 
Despite the defeat, some strong performances from the Panthers came from Amadi Lee-Kane and Tim Park. Lee-Kane put up 12 points while also recording three assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block. Tim Park led Old Westbury in points and came off the bench. Park scored 13 points. Emmanuel Lemba led the team in rebounding and ended the game with a total of seven. 
 
All in all, the Panthers fell short in this one but will look to move forward and bounce back. The team will prepare to take on Maritime on Wednesday to kick off their Skyline Conference play. The game will take place in the Clark Center, with a tip-off time of 6pm.