Men’s Basketball shuts down UNE for road win

Box Score BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Five different players scored between 11 and nine points to pace the Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team to a 63-52 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory over the University of New England on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 17) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Hawks (7-8, 5-3 CCC) received 11 points from both junior Josh McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) and first-year Jaylen Jennings (Norwalk, Conn.), and 10 more out of sophomore Andrew Wasik (Gainsville, Fla.). Senior Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) and first-year Conor O'Brien (Sharon, Mass.) scored nine points apiece, while the game-high 11 rebounds from O'Brien helped the visitors establish a 43-33 advantage on the glass.

Sophomores CJ Autry (Standish, Maine) and Jean-Luc Parker (Georgetown, Texas) paced the Nor'easters (5-10, 3-5 CCC) with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Junior Devin Thompson (Winthrop, Mass.) and first-year Drew Coveney (Londonderry, N.H.) chipped in with eight points each, and Coveney also recorded six steals to go with four assists. First-year Evrim Ozkan (Istanbul, Turkey) collected a team-best nine rebounds.

Both offensive units struggled a bit during the 1st half with shooting and turnovers. UNE led 19-16 in the closing minutes of the period before Roger Williams scored eight unanswered to gain a 24-19 cushion at intermission. Wasik tallied the last five, including a buzzer-beating trey from the top of the arc.

Thompson converted a three-point play to begin the 2nd frame, but O'Brien responded with one of his own and the Hawks quickly extended to a 31-22 lead capped by a pair of baskets from Palumbo.

The gap peaked at 15 (41-26) with just under 12 minutes to go, and the hosts could only get as close as eight (51-43, 59-51) down the stretch.

RWU returns home to face Gordon College (3-5 CCC) on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.). At the same time, the Nor'easters are scheduled to visit Curry College (1-7 CCC).
- Release courtesy of the University of New England Sports Information Department

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