Men’s Basketball takes down Wheaton for 1st win

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball snapped a four-game skid and picked up its first victory of the year Tuesday evening with a 69-57 win over Wheaton College.

With the win, the Hawks go into the Thanksgiving break at 1-4 and will begin Commonwealth Coast Conference play on December 4 at Nichols College. Wheaton drops under .500 at 2-3 and will host Emmanuel College on December 3.

The Hawks got off to a strong start, similar to the team's play over the early part of the season. RWU opened the contest on a 10-2 run over the first three minutes of the game to take an early lead.

RWU would eventually build its lead to 13 points, as Joseph Henry (Medway, Mass.) buried a three-pointer at the 13:53 mark to put the Hawks on top 20-7 and forcing a Wheaton timeout.

Despite the double-digit deficit, Wheaton would continue to climb its way back into the game, pecking away over the course of the half. Trailing 25-33 with 2:40 to play in the period, the Lyons rolled off a 10-0 run, helped by a game-tying fastbreak layup by Aygei Gregory (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) and a runner in the lane by Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass.) to give Wheaton a 35-33 lead. Andrew Wasik (Gainesville, Fla.) answered with a floater in the paint to send both teams tied at 35 going into halftime.

The second half saw both teams play each other tight, with five ties and one lead change in the half. The Hawks were able to go ahead and hold on to a lead that hovered between two and five points for most of the period, yet Wheaton continued to remain within striking distance.

A cold stretch for the Lyons ultimately proved to be their downfall, as the Lyons scored only one point over a six-minute stretch late in the game. Trailing 54-56 with 8:21 to play, Wheaton went 1-for-7 from the field over the next 6+ minutes, allowing Roger Williams to build its lead to nine. The Hawks were then able to hold off the Lyons and come away with the win.

Chris Bardwell (North Andover, Mass.) and Josh Syska (Peabody, Mass.) each finished with 14 points, while Will Gerencer (Bowdoin, Maine) added 12 points and five rebounds. Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) went for nine points and six assists.

Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn.) finished with a game-high 16 points off the bench, while Gregory went for 14 points and two blocked shots. Quinton Dale (Winthrop, Mass.) added six points and eight rebounds.

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