BRISTOL, R.I. – The RWU men's basketball team surrendered an 11-point second-half lead Saturday afternoon, resulting in a University of New England 47-44 victory, extending the Nor'Easters' win streak to 17.
The Hawks had a final chance to tie the game, down three points with the ball and about 15 seconds remaining. With nothing developing, the Hawks called a time-out with three seconds left on the clock. The ensuing inbound pass went to senior Billy Barrett (Fairfield, Conn.) who was forced to fire a deep three over a double team, which did not fall.
Leading 25-20 at halftime, the Hawks extended their cushion to 11 (33-22) in the opening two minutes of the second half.
The Nor'easters responded with a 14-2 run over the ensuing four minutes to take a 36-35 lead at the 14:11 mark. First-year guard Anthony Johnson (Austin, Texas) had five points during the spurt, and four other players scored, including a fastbreak jumper by senior Johnnie Jefferson (Dallas, Texas) to cap the run.
After a three-pointer by Barrett put the Hawks back on top, but UNE sophomore Chas Rentrope (Peoria, Ariz.) tied the game at 38-all on a layup.
Johnson's layup at the 10:56 mark gave UNE the lead for good, then Jefferson tallied five unanswered points to give the Nor'easters a 45-38 advantage.
A Taylor Petruccelli (Stratford, Conn.) free throw with 9:22 remaining put the brakes on UNE's surge, but Roger Williams went scoreless over the next 5:38 and found itself trailing, 46-39.
Senior guard Tucker Bashaw (Williston, Vt.) buried a three to get the Hawks within four (46-42) before UNE junior Marchale Robinson (Baton Rouge, La.) made 1 of 2 free throws with two minutes left to push the lead back up to five (47-42).
Sophomore center Pat Flanagan (Somerville, Mass.) converted a pair of free throw attempts on RWU's next possession to make it a three-point game.
The Nor'easters would miss a pair of three-point attempts in the final 1:04, giving the Hawks a chance to tie on the game's final possession.
UNE won despite going the final 9:53 without a field goal and scoring just four points from the line during that stretch.
Jefferson scored nine of his team-high 12 points in the second half to help UNE rally. Rentrope came off the bench to score four points and pick up three key steals in nine minutes of playing time.
The Nor'easters shot just 30.8 percent (16 of 52) from the floor for the contest.
Flanagan controlled play inside for the Hawks, recording game highs of 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Barrett knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and six boards.
Roger Williams held a commanding 37-20 rebounding margin but was hampered by 25 turnovers, including 14 after halftime. The Hawks made half (10 of 20) of their attempts from the floor in the first half but cooled off to convert just 30.8 percent (4 of 13) in the second.
UNE (18-3, 9-0 TCCC) will put its school-record 17-game win streak on the line Tuesday in a road contest at Endicott College (8:00 p.m.). The Hawks (9-11, 5-4) will look to snap their three-game losing streak when they travel to Anna Maria College for an 8:00 p.m. contest.
-Release courtesy of UNE Sports Information
