BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team edged out a close game against Endicott College Thursday evening, defeating the Gulls 55-50.

A stout defensive effort was given by both teams, seen by nine ties and ten lead changes. After a first half that saw the Hawks hold on to a slim 27-26 lead, open looks came even harder to come by in the second half, with neither team cracking the 30 percent mark from the field.

With Endicott holding on to a 46-43 lead with less than five minutes remaining, Billy Barrett (Fairfield, Conn.) knotted the game with a three-pointer, his only field goal of the game. On the Hawks' next possession, Pat Flanagan (Somerville, Mass.) found Travis O'Dell (Brunswick, Maine) open in the corner for a trey, which he knocked down to give RWU a 49-46 lead with 3:01 to play.

The game appeared to be strongly in favor of Roger Williams, when Barrett's two free throws put the Hawks up five with 1:01 to play. Yet Endicott continued to fight back, with Bobby Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) driving into the lane and hitting a layup for the and-one. After completing the three-point play and the subsequent Hawk timeout, the Gulls trailed 51-49 with 54 seconds to play.

With the Gulls pressing the inbound, the defensive pressure allowed Montrond to come up with a steal to give Endicott a chance to tie or take the lead. Montrond would eventually be fouled on the possession, needing to hit both shots of the double bonus for the tie. Montrond sank the first but missed the second, with Flanagan grabbing the rebound before being fouled. Flanagan hit both his free throws to put RWU up 52-49 with 18 seconds left.

On the final Endicott possession, Montrond had the chance to bury a game-tying three for the left elbow with five seconds left, but came up short, as the Hawks escaped with the win.

Flanagan led RWU with 14 points and seven rebounds. O'Dell added nine points and six boards, while Joe Kane (Glenmont, N.Y.) finished with eight points in nine minutes.

Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine) finished with 13 points for Endicott, while Montrond had eight. Chris Galbraith chipped in with nine points off the bench.

Roger Williams (9-8. 5-1 TCCC) heads to Colby-Sawyer College Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. game, while Endicott (7-11, 2-4 TCCC) travels to Gordon College Saturday at 3:00 p.m.