BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team was defeated in the Courtyard by Marriott Tournament championship game with a final score of 88-84 on Saturday afternoon.
The Jumbos' Luke Rogers (Boxborough, Mass.) collected the first four points of the game within the first minute of the game. Following a basket by
JJ Pfohl (Trumbull, Conn.) at 18:22, it would be back and forth scoring with strong offensive pressure from both teams.
Two made free throws by
Drew Hart (Cheshire, Conn.) in the sixth minute of the game gave the Hawks their first lead with a score of 16-15. Three pointers by
Ian Carmichael (Atkinson, N.H.) and
JJ Pfohl (Trumbull, Conn.) helped the Hawks bring their lead to seven with four minutes left to play in the first half. A buzzer-beater by
Rich Pugliese (Middlebury, Conn.) would give the Hawks a three-point lead going into halftime, with a score of 41-38.
Tufts began the second half with an 8-0 run until Pugliese and Hart both knocked down three-pointers to put the Hawks back in the lead (47-46). A clutch four-point play by the Jumbos' Justin Kouyoumdjian (La Canada, Calif.) at 12:30 gave Tufts the lead at 59-56.
Rogers contributed 19 points during the second half to help Tufts keep the lead for the majority of the half. A layup by Pfohl in the last 10 seconds of the game and a three pointer with four seconds left by Pugliese kept the game extremely close at 84-86. Despite a late run for Roger Williams, Tufts came out on top with a final score of 88-84.
The Hawks'
Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) and the Jumbos' Rogers were placed on the all-tournament team. The MVP of the Courtyard by Marriott tournament was Tufts' Carson Cohen (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Coene finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and for the Hawks. Pugliese contributed 14 points and Pfohl added 13.
Rogers led the Jumbos with 32 points and 16 boards to help Tufts come away with the win. Will Brady (Ridgefield, Conn.) had 15 points and Cohen added 10 points and nine assists.
Roger Williams (2-2) will travel to Wheaton on Tuesday evening. Tufts (2-0) will also be on the road Tuesday evening, traveling to MIT.
