SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team held off a late run from Western New England University as the Hawks notched an 87-84 Wednesday evening.
 
Ian Carmichael (Atkinson, N.H.) stepped out of the paint and drilled a three for the first basket of the game. A three-pointer by Alex Sikorski put the Golden Bears ahead 7-5 at the 17:54 mark. WNE would hold the lead for the next six minutes until Rich Pugliese (Middletown, Conn.) drilled a three-pointer to put RWU up 18-17.
 
RWU would hold on to the lead for a majority of the first half, including holding the Golden Bears scoreless over a five-minute stretch and going up by as many as 21. Roger Williams would go into halftime leading 51-35.
 
Western New England cut into the lead early in the second half with a 10-2 run to pull within eight. A layup by Mikey Pettway made it a four-point deficit (51-55) with 14:19 left. The Golden Bears came as close as three but the Hawks were able to maintain the lead for most of the rest of the half.
 
However, WNE managed to come within one in the final minute, but a pair of free throws by Bryan Donovan (Gainesville, Fla.) helped preserve the lead, allowing RWU to come away with the win.
 
Jake Heaton (Shelton, Conn.) led RWU with 19 points, while Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) added 13 points and seven rebounds while Donovan finished with 16 points and four boards.
 
Roger Williams (3-4, 1-0 CCC) will host the University of New England on Saturday at 3:00 pm.
 
- Release courtesy of the Western New England University Sports Information Department