Box Score MILTON, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball fell just shy of winning The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament as Curry College defeated the Hawks 83-66 Saturday evening in the TCCC Championship game.
The Colonels led wire-to-wire in the game, building an early 6-0 lead and eventually taking a 23-14 advantage over the Hawks. RWU was able to pull within three with 7:12 to play in the half before Curry closed the period on a 12-7 run to take a 35-27 lead into the break, capped off by a Quashed Simmons (Patterson, N.J.) three-pointer at the buzzer.
Curry opened the half by stretching taking a 12-point lead in the opening five minutes of the second half. Corey Fava (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) helped bring the Hawks within eight with a three-point play at the 15:01 mark. Geoff Baranger (Fairfield, Conn.) cut the deficit by another basket with a jumper with 13:46 to play, making it 49-43.
Unfortunately for RWU, the Hawks could not pull closer than that six-point hole, as the Colonels sprinted out on a 15-6 run to make it a 64-49 game with just under ten minutes to play.
The second-half spurt for the Colonels was sparked by a 62.5% shooting clip in the period, including a 6-of-10 performance from behind the arc.
In their final game, RWU seniors Baranger, Ben Camobreco (Duxbury, Mass.), and Dan Gumb (Patterson, N.Y.) combined for 32 points and 18 rebounds. Billy Barrett (Fairfield, Conn.) went for 13 points and three rebounds.
Curry's Johnathan Bowers (Kalamazoo, Mich.) finished with a big game for the Colonels, going for 29 points and 11 rebounds. Mark Mastrullo (Billerica, Mass.) scored 19 while teammate Tim Jones (Brookline, Mass.) finished with 12 points and six assists.
Roger Williams finishes with an overall record of 17-11 and 11-2 in the TCCC. Curry (18-10, 11-2 TCCC) will represent the TCCC in the NCAA Tournament, as the win gives the Colonels an automatic bid.
