BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball came out on top in the first round of the Courtyard by Marriott tournament with the final score of 99-91 on Friday evening.
 
Rich Pugliese (Middlebury, Conn.) began the scoring for the Hawks in the first two minutes of the game with a three-pointer, quickly followed by a layup for the AMCATS by Mike Rapoza (Charlton, Mass.). The scoring by each team stayed consistent throughout the first half until the 12:45 mark, when a basket by Bryan Donovan (Gainesville, Fla.) helped spark an 11-0 run for the Hawks to extend the lead to 12.
 
A technical foul on the bench for the AMCATS at 11:16 gave the Hawks their first ten-point lead of the first half, when Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) made both free throws, giving the Hawks a 28-18 advantage.
 
Four made three throws by the AMCATS created a 6-0 run for Anna Maria with under four minutes left in the half. With 11 seconds left in the first period, Anna Maria's Bobby Perette (Marshfield, Mass.) knocked down a three, and the Hawks' Donovan answered with two seconds left, sinking a three-pointer. The Hawks would go into halftime with a four-point lead (47-43).
 
The second half began with both teams scoring back to back, however the Hawks were able to keep the lead. A three-pointer by Donovan with 11 minutes left in the game gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game of 13 points.
 
A three-pointer by Anna Maria's Perette with five minutes left changed the pace of the game, creating a run for the AMCATS, putting pressure of the Hawks who were up by only five points.  With three minutes left, a layup and free throw by Anna Maria's Joseph Kwiatkowski (Hudson, N.H.) created the smallest gap of the second half, with Anna Maria making it a score of 84-88. However, the Hawks were able to keep their lead to hold on for the the final score of 99-91. 
 
The Hawks shot 59.3% from the field including a 48.4 % from three-point range in the win.
 
Coene led Roger Williams with 26 points, five boards and four assists. Pugliese closely followed collecting 23 points, while Donovan added 18 points and five assists to help the Hawks grab the win.
 
Rapoza led Anna Maria with a double-double, racking up 38 points and 11 rebounds. Perette added 24 points and four assists. Chris Contento (Marshfield, Mass.) finished with 12 assists for the AMCATS.
 
Roger Williams (2-1) will play Tufts on Saturday in the tournament championship at 3:00pm. Anna Maria (1-2) will play St. Joseph's (1-2) at 1:00pm in the consolation game.