PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team dropped its season opener to Johnson & Wales University 71-74 Tuesday evening.
The night was highlighted by JWU senior guard Lamonte Thomas' (Providence, R.I.) 2,000th career point which came with 48 seconds left in the first half. Thomas became the first Wildcat to ever accomplish the feat in school history and third ever in the history of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.
The Hawks came out strong in the first half jumping out to a 15-8 lead just six minutes into the game. Two minutes later, freshman Alex Lane (Mountain View, Calif.) sunk a layup which gave Roger Williams an 11-point lead, their biggest lead of the contest. JWU chipped away and took their first lead of the game, 26-25, on a jumper by Thomas with 1:56 left in the stanza. The Wildcats would then take a 35-31 lead into the locker room at halftime after shooting 55.5% from the field and forcing RWU into 11 turnovers.
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the early stages of the second half before Roger Williams knotted the game at 44-44 on a jumper by senior Pat Flanagan (Somerville, Mass.). The Wildcats then used 15-9 run, capped by a layup by junior Mike Harris (Providence, R.I.) for the 59-53 advantage. Once again, the visiting Hawks rallied and cut the lead to 72-71 on a layup by Flanagan with just 0:14 remaining. It would not be enough, however as Thomas sealed the deal with a pair of free throws with ten seconds remaining to give the team the 74-71 victory.
Thomas finished the night with 33 points, four rebounds and three steals while Harris and freshman Rob Walker (N. Kingstown, R.I.) put up double-digit points with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Hawks were paced by Flanagan, who led all scorers with a career-high 41 points, also setting a new school record in the process. Mike Engemann (Red Bank, N.J.) tallied ten rebounds for Roger Williams.
Johnson & Wales is now 1-0 on the season while Roger Williams falls to 0-1. The Wildcats are back in action on November 26th and 27th when they travel to Western Connecticut State for the WCSU Invitational. Roger Williams hosts Fisher Saturday in the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational.
- Release courtesy of the Johnson & Wales University Sports Information Department
