Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – Eastern Nazarene College erased a 12-point halftime deficit to take a 64-61 road win over the Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team Tuesday evening in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest.
Nick Marini (Loudonville, N.Y.) came out strong for Roger Williams with a three-pointer assisted by
Andrew Wasik (Gainesville, Fla.) at 19:30. The Hawks gained the quick lead within the first seven minutes but the Lions weren't far behind. The game came to a head at 13:36 when Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) landed a layup for the Lions to tie the game at 9-9.
Eastern Nazarene took the lead at 13:09 with a three-pointer from Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.), 12-9. Anthony Petrilli (Woodland Hills, Calif.) pushed forward for the team with another two points, advancing the Lions by five, 14-9.
The Hawks regained their lead with a jumper by
Conor O'Brien (Sharon, Mass.), bringing the score to 15-14 with 11 minutes remaining in the half. The Lions were able to tie it at 10:35 with a free throw by David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.).
The Hawks pulled away at the ten-minute mark, scoring 13 points within five minutes, leaving the score at 31-20 with five minutes to go. O'Brien,
Jaylen Jennings (Norwalk, Conn.),
Josh McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) and
Alex Puzone (North Haven, Conn.) all contributed points. Owens scored for the Lions at 2:10 to bring the gap to twelve points, 26-38. Petrilli later hit a jumper with 22 seconds left to end the half at 28-40 in favor of RWU.
Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) landed two points at 19:24 to start the half, the Lions now trailing by ten, 30-40. The Lions continued to land baskets, with a three pointer by Justin Wagner and a layup by Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.), 35-40.
The Wagner brothers proved to be dangerous at the three-point line, landing back-to-back threes to put the Lions on top 41-40 with 14 minutes to go.
O'Brien regained the lead for the Hawks yet again with a quick layup at 13:29 but the Lions were right behind with a layup by Gomes, the score a close 42-43.
The game remained close with strong offensive drives by both teams. The Lions held a slight one-point lead with six minutes on the clock.
The turning point came with the score tied at 57 with just over three minutes left. Lynch went to the free throw line for two and missed both shots, but came through with two offensive rebounds during the possession, ending in a pass to Jeremy Wagner who hit a long three to put the Lions ahead by three. Both teams kept the pressure on, but the Lions held a minor lead going into the two-minute mark, 62-59.
The Hawks had possession at the one-minute mark and
Trevor Fahmy (Bedford, N.H.) was fouled, allowing him to land both shots, bringing the gap to a mere one with 37 seconds left in the game. Jaylen Owens was put on the foul line at the six second mark and landed both shots, bringing the Lions ahead by three, 64-61. The Hawks attempted to make a quick comeback but were unable to land the buzzer-beating three.
Gomes led Eastern Nazarene with 17 points, followed by teammate Owens with 13 points along with three steals. Eddings stayed aggressive under the hoop and gained eight rebounds for the Lions.
Jennings and O'Brien led the Hawks with 12 total points, followed by McCourt with ten. Fahmy put in work under the hoop with 11 rebounds.
Roger Williams (7-9, 5-4 CCC) will travel to Wenham, Mass. this Saturday to play opponent Gordon College at three. Eastern Nazarene (11-5, 5-4 CCC) will have home court advantage this Saturday at three against Endicott College.