Box Score BRISTOL, R.I.—The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team opened the Courtyard by Marriott Tip-Off Tournament with a 75-58 win over Emmanuel College Friday night in Bristol, R.I.
 
The Hawks entered their second game Friday night coming off of a big win over U.S. Coast Guard Academy Wednesday night. The opening game of the RWU Tip-off tournament was the season opener for the Emmanuel College Saints.
 
The Saints struck first after a steal by Colin Cordero on a turnover by Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.).
 
Emmanuel's tough defense in the first few minutes made it difficult to penetrate the paint or get a shot off. The Hawks' first two points came on free throws.  
 
Rich Pugliese (Middlebury, Conn.) hit the first three-pointer of the game to give the home team the 7-4 lead.
 
With the game beginning to become physical, the Saints pulled out the full-court press in the fifth minute after a charge was called on Emmett Riddick on a breakaway.
 
The Hawks began finding open shots against the Saints' zone defense and hit two threes in consecutive possessions. They also broke the press, scored quick layups and forced the Saints to call their second timeout of the half with the score at 19-6.
 
Fouls hurt the Saints early in the first half, racking up seven within ten minutes and allowing the Hawks to step up to the line 23 times in the half.
 
The Hawks extended their lead to 16 late in the first half and carried a 37-26 lead into halftime.
 
The home team shot 40.9% from the field in the first half, compared to the Saints' 27.3%. Nick Marini (Loudonville, N.Y.) led with eight points for the Hawks and Cordero led with nine points.
 
The Hawks grabbed the first two points of the second half on a Coene layup.
 
The Hawks found a rhythm in the fifth minute of play and scored their 50^th point. Jaylen Jennings (Norwalk, Conn.) scored his ninth and 11^th points within 30 seconds to force the Saints to call a timeout and change their game plan.
 
The Hawks kept the pressure on, pulling away with a 20-point lead midway through the half.
 
The Hawks slowed the pace way down in the last few minutes, but the Saints put the full-court press back on to force the Hawks to push the ball down the court faster than wanted.
 
Jack Moulder scored the last three points for the Saints. The Hawks held the ball for the last few seconds to end the game.
 
Marini led all scorers with 17 points. Jennings followed Marini with 16, and Cordero led the Saints with 14 points. Joe Tamburro grabbed seven rebounds for Emmanuel and Jennings pulled down seven for the Hawks.
 
In the second game of the night, RPI defeated the Framingham State University Rams 62-40 Friday night in the RWU tip-off tournament.
 
The Rams entered the matchup coming off a loss against Wentworth Institute of Technology in their opener Wednesday night. The RPI Engineers were fresh off a win against SUNY Cobleskill Wednesday.
 
The Engineers grabbed the first two points of the game on a layup by Andreas Kontopidis that rolled around the rim before it found the bottom of the net.
 
RPI found success in the paint with four layups to start their night.
 
Kenny Seitz hit the first three-pointer for the Rams which cut their deficit to three.
 
The Engineers extended their lead to seven with a three by Kontopidis with just under 10 minutes left in the half. RPI's defense prevented the Rams from getting a clean shot or easy layup.
 
Kevin Davis' steal and breakaway layup extended RPI's lead to eight.
 
The Rams finally scored for the first time in six minutes on two made free throws by James Purcell.
 
Kontopidis scored his 15^th point of the half with just under a minute left to push his team to 30 points.
 
Tyri Hampton and James Purcell both had four points for the Rams in the first half.
 
The score at halftime was 30-17 in favor of the Engineers.
 
The first two points of the half come on made free throws by Kontopidis.
 
Manny Payton received a technical foul in the second minute after Hampton went down with an injury. Tom Horvat made both of the free throws for RPI.
 
RPI grabbed a 20-point lead on an Asa Barnhill three-pointer.
 
The Rams gained some momentum with six quick points.
 
The Engineers' fast ball movement allowed them to get off open shots and find holes in the paint.
 
Kontopidis led all scorers with 19 points and had six rebounds. Payton led the Rams with 10 points and tied with Charles Valbrun with six rebounds.
 
RPI had a 31.3% field goal percentage and a 21.4% shooting percentage behind the three-point lines.
 
The Rams will face Emmanuel College Saturday in the consolation game. RPI will enter the championship game against the tournament's host, Roger Williams University.