DUDLEY, Mass. –  The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team began Commonwealth Coast Conference play with a loss to Nichols College Saturday afternoon, falling 71-81.

The Bison opened the game with a pair of layups, before a three-pointer by Taylor Petruccelli (Stratford, Conn.) and a layup by Kyle Bogucki (Clinton, Conn.) put the Hawks up by one. With the score tied at 15 with 12:59 to play in the first half, Pat Flanagan (Somerville, Mass.) dropped in a bucket for the Hawks to regain the lead.

RWU held on to that lead over most of the remainder of the half until the Bison crept back into the game, going up 34-33 on a jumper by Jeff Lindgren (Sturbridge, Mass.). Nichols ended the half up 40-37.

A 10-3 run to open the second half put the Bison up by ten in the opening four minutes. That run helped give Nichols a cushion throughout the second half, as the Hawks could not cut the deficit closer than four over the rest of the game.

The Bison were also aided by a wide margin in free throw shooting, going 27-for-32 in the game compared to 9-for-11 for RWU.

Bogucki notched his first double-double of the season, scoring 18 points with 11 rebounds. Petruccelli and Flanagan each finished with 12 points for RWU. Billy Barrett (Fairfield, Conn.) added eight points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.

For the Bison, Pete Atkins (Gainesville, Fla.) also had a double-double, with 20 points and 11 boards. Chris Paquin (Barre, Mass.) scored 19, while Brian Riley (West Boylston, Mass.) added 16.

Roger Williams (4-8) hosts Western New England College Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m., while Nichols travels to Endicott Tuesday for an 8:00 p.m. game.