Western New England outlasts Men’s Basketball

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – Western New England persevered through a close game in the final minutes, coming away with a 69-68 win Thursday evening over the Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team.

The Golden Bears trailed 51-60 with 6:57 left to play before chipping away at the nine-point deficit. Dennis Rinaldi (Harrison, N.Y.) scored four of the next eight points for Western New England as part of an 8-0 run to pull within one. Pat Flanagan (Somerville, Mass.) knocked down a jumper to bring the Hawks' lead back to three, but a pair of Golden Bear baskets gave WNE a 62-61 lead.

Joseph Henry (Medway, Mass.) responded with a three-pointer for the Hawks to bring RWU back up by two with 2:24 left. Yet Daniel Minto (West Hempstead, N.Y.) and Rinaldi scored the four points to put WNE back on top by two (65-67) with 55 seconds left.

On the next Hawk possession, Matt Grossbard (Pearl River, N.Y.) was fouled on a three-point attempt and knocked down all three free throws to give RWU a one-point advantage (68-67) with 40 seconds left.

The next Golden Bear possession saw Rinaldi give Western New England the lead with an off-balance tip-in with one hand off of a missed jumper with 15 seconds left. The ensuing Hawk possession, Rinaldi made a crucial steal on a pass in the paint to Flanagan, leading to a full court pass and a Golden Bear timeout.

RWU caught a break on the inbound, with Western New England committing a backcourt violation to give RWU possession. After a tipped inbound and three consecutive RWU timeouts, Henry fired a three-pointer for the corner that nearly gave the Hawks another buzzer beating win, but was unable to find the bottom of the net, as WNE escaped with the win.

Andre Shaw (New York, N.Y.) led all scorers with 24 points, while Minto finished with a double-double (10 pts., 11 reb.). Rinaldi went for 18 points and eight rebounds, while Musa Elsir (West Springfield, Mass.) notched six points and five boards off the bench.

Flanagan had a double-double for the Hawks with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Matt Clifford (Norwood, Mass.) and Ryan Palumbo each added nine points, while Grossbard finished with five points and seven assists.

Roger Williams (8-7, 4-4 CCC) goes to Salve Regina, while Western New England (5-9, 2-6 CCC) hosts the University of New England on Saturday.

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