Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball will go into Christmas break on a three-game winning streak after collecting a 97-82 victory over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Thursday evening.
Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) set a new career high with 32 points for the Hawks, in addition to six rebounds and six assists.
Nick Marini (Loudonville, N.Y.) added 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Jaylen Jennings (Norwalk, Conn.) chipped in with 16 points off the bench.
The Corsairs' Nick Portelance (Fairhaven, Mass.) went for 20 points and eight rebounds. Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.) finished with 15 points and three steals, with Abi Akanni (Fitchburg, Mass.) adding 14 points, five boards, and four assists.
Despite crashing the offensive boards at a high rate, UMass-Dartmouth was held back by poor shooting. The Corsairs held a 45-34 advantage on the glass, including 22 offensive rebounds, to Roger Williams' three. However, the Hawk defense held UMass-Dartmouth to only 37.0 percent shooting in the game (30-for-81).
Conversely for Roger Williams, the Hawks' up-tempo pace proved to be too much for the Corsairs, in addition to their proficiency with the shot. RWU set the tone with 22 fast break points to the Corsairs' two. In addition, Roger Williams shot 60.7 percent from the field (34-for-56), the Hawks' highest single-game field goal percentage since January 2005, when the team hit 61.8 percent of their shots.
The two teams traded baskets early one before the Hawks took the lead for good on a layup by
Conor O'Brien (Sharon, Mass.) with 16:30 to play in the first half. RWU would go up by as many as ten in the period before settling for a 42-34 halftime lead.
In the second period, the Corsairs managed to pull back within three (47-50) with 16:13 to play. However, Roger Williams would score seven straight points to go back up by ten and never allow UMass-Dartmouth to retake the lead.
Roger Williams (7-2) will return to action on December 29 with a road contest against Worcester State. UMass-Darmouth (5-3) will head to Plymouth State on Saturday for a 3pm game.
