Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Western New England University men's basketball team opened Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play with an 82-76 loss to Roger Williams University on Wednesday evening at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
 
Sophomore guard Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) scored 13 of his team-high 21 points in the second half. McGuire shot 7-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-10 from three-point range, while also connecting on 3-of-4 free throws.
 
Freshman forward Zach Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) made 7-of-11 field goals on his way to a season-high 17 points to go with six rebounds and two blocks.
 
Junior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) added 16 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals for the Golden Bears.
 
Junior guard Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) led the Hawks with a game-high 28 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 14-of-20 from the charity stripe, to go along with ten rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.
 
Sophomore guard Rich Pugliese (Middlebury, Conn.) chipped in with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range, while seniors Nick Marini (Loudonville, N.Y.) and Jaylen Jennings (Norwalk, Conn.) contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Roger Williams held a 22-18 lead at the game's first timeout with 9:20 remaining in the first half. The Hawks led by the same margin (27-23) after Coene completed a traditional three-point play at the 5:53 mark.
 
Western New England cut its deficit to one (27-26) on a layup by Tavitian 48 seconds later, but Roger Williams closed out the half with a 14-6 run to open up a 41-32 advantage at the break. Coene scored eight of the Hawks' points during the run, with six coming at the free throw line.
 
A Jennings three-pointer 2:19 into the second half pushed Roger Williams' lead into double figures (46-34) for the first time. The Golden Bears pulled to within eight on a couple of occasions, before getting as close as four (59-55) when McGuire knocked down a pair of free throws with 9:07 left in the contest.
 
Coene scored four straight points as the visitors extended their advantage back to eight, and the Hawks kept the Golden Bears at bay with a couple of key three-pointers from Pugliese at 6:27 and 5:18.
 
After Western New England made one final run to get to within four with 3:46 remaining, Roger Williams pulled away late to seal the win.
 
The Golden Bears shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the field, 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from three-point range, and 66.7 percent (20-of-30) from the free throw line.
 
Western New England freshman guard Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn.) provided a spark off the bench, scoring nine of his ten points in the second half.
 
The Hawks held a 37-34 rebounding edge.
 
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (1-4, 0-1 CCC) hosts Salve Regina and Roger Williams (6-0, 1-0 CCC) travels to the University of New England.
 
- Release courtesy of the Western New England University Sports Information Department