Men’s Basketball stuns Gordon

Box Score WENHAM, Mass. — The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team stunted the offensive groove of Gordon College, coming away with a 68-52 road win and ending Gordon's five-game conference winning streak.

Roger Williams' Zac Campbell (Woodbridge, Conn.) had the best game of his young career, scoring a game-high 22 points to lead the upstart Hawks.

The two teams came into the game with very different offensive philosophies. Gordon looked to pound the ball inside to Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Conn.) and Jason Dempsey (Wallingford, Conn.), while the Hawks countered with a quick-tempo outside assault. The differences in style didn't get either team an advantage early on, as the two teams battled to a 14-14 tie over the first 10 minutes of play.

A pair of hustle plays on offense by Shaun Roach (Weymouth, Mass.) gave the Scots their largest lead of the night at 18-14 with 9:22 remaining in the first half. However, it was all Hawks the rest of the way with Campbell getting hot down the stretch. He scored seven points during a 21-11 run over the final nine minutes, giving the Hawks a 35-29 advantage with one half to play.

The Scots looked as if they had turned a corner coming out of the locker rooms by tying the game at 37 a side only four minutes into the half. Miersma and Luke Hamilton (Mount Airy, N.C) each contributed to Gordon's longest run of the game—a 10-2 streak stretching back to the final minute of the first half.

Campbell broke the tie once again with a triple in the deep corner in front of the Gordon faithful. The Scots crept back within one point twice more in the half, but a 10-1 run by the Hawks in a three-minute span dampened Gordon's spirits for the remainder.

After Gordon (8-7) had closed the gap to 42-41 with 12:45 left in regulation, the Scots went cold from the floor. The Fighting Scots could only manage 11 points the rest of the way and the Hawks built up a double-digit lead by hitting 19-of-21 free throws. The Scots struggled from the line in the second half, missing eight of their 11 attempts.

The freshman Campbell led all scorers with 22 points and he chipped in four steals off the bench. Starting point guard Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) was 10-for-10 from the charity stripe and finished with 12 total points. Joseph Henry (Medway, Mass.) was the only other Hawks' player in double figures with 10 points, making four of his five attempts.

Gordon could not find any scoring outside of Miersma and Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who finished with 12 and 13 points apiece. Roach and Sam Johnson (Chatham, Mass.) also had solid games off the bench.

The loss drops the Scots to 6-3 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play, while the Hawks (5-11) improve to 4-5 in the CCC.

Gordon will look to get revenge against visitor Nichols on Saturday afternoon at the Bennett Center for a 3 p.m. tip. The Bison held off a late rally from the Scots in their first meeting back in early December. Roger Williams will travel to Salve Regina on Saturday.

- Release courtesy of the Gordon College Sports Information Department

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Players Mentioned

#5 Joseph Henry: F; 6' 2"; Junior

#1 Ryan Palumbo: G; 5' 10"; Junior

#20 Zac Campbell: G; 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#5 Joseph Henry
: 6' 2"; Junior
: F

#1 Ryan Palumbo
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

#20 Zac Campbell
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#5 Joseph Henry

#1 Ryan Palumbo

#20 Zac Campbell

Players Mentioned

#5 Joseph Henry

#1 Ryan Palumbo

#20 Zac Campbell