Men's Basketball 2/6/2013 10:54:00 PM

Men’s Basketball downs Nichols with late surge

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team pulled away from Nichols College in the second half, defeating the Bison 85-74 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play Wednesday night.

The win for the Hawks improves their overall record to 8-14 and their conference record to 5-10, while Nichols falls to 12-10 overall and 7-8 in the CCC.

RWU was led by sophomore Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) who finished with 20 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Joseph Henry (Medway, Mass.) added 15 points while going 3-5 from the three-point line, and Mike Igoe (Lexington, Mass.) and Will Gerencer (Bowdin, Maine) both tallied 11 points during the game.

Ryan Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) paced Nichols with 30 points and six rebounds. Matt Langadas (Casco, Maine) and Marlon Bennett (Stratford, Conn.) both finished with 11 points with Langadas tallying four rebounds and Bennett earning six boards.

The Hawks looked to take the lead early as James LeCardi (Fair Haven, N.J.) began a 10-0 run against the Bison with a three-pointer at 17:01 and was finished by a jumper from Palumbo at 15:33, making the score 11-3. The Bison were able to battle back as Sam Horning (Falmouth, Maine) finally found an answer to the Hawks, stopping the run with two quick buckets at 14:10 cutting into the Hawks lead 13-7.

The Hawks were able to keep Nichols at bay for a majority of the first with two quick three-pointers from LeCardi and Henry put RWU up 26-18 with 8:18 remaining in the 1st. Sheehan led the Bison to battle back hitting a three-pointer and layup to make the Hawks lead only 30-28 with 5:10 remaining.

With the 1st half winding down, Palumbo helped to push RWU in front with a jumper at 2:34, putting the Hawks ahead 39-34. Nichols instantly responded as Sheehan nailed a three-pointer to bring the Bison within three points, and with only 32 seconds left tied the game up for his team nailing yet another three-pointer tying the game at the half 40-40.

Each team came out to retake the lead early in the second half with both teams trading the lead in the first four minutes. The Hawks managed to break away from Nichols again by going on a 9-0 run beginning with a made three-pointer from Henry, and finished with a layup from Trevor Fahmy (Bedford, N.H.) making the score 53-45 with 13:24 left in the game.

The Bison were not about to go down easy, as they went on their own 11-3 run capped by a three-pointer by Bennett at 9:29 to tie the game. Gerencer helped to give RWU the lead once again with a quick jumper and a made three-pointer putting the Hawks up 61-56 with 8:41 remaining.

The Hawks remained in control for the rest of the game by outscoring Nichols 12-0 over the next three minutes to give them a 73-60 lead with 5:43 to play. Nichols tried to find one last surge as, but the Hawks kept a ten-point advantage over the Bison for the remainder of the game.

Both teams return to the court on Saturday for more CCC action, as Roger Williams visits Wentworth at 3:00 p.m., while Nichols will host UNE at 2:00 p.m.

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