BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team lost to Connecticut College with a final score of 78-68 Saturday afternoon.
 
The Camels struck first with a layup by David Labossiere (Stoneham, Mass.). Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) answered with a three for the Hawks, putting them on the board. A jumper by Dan Draffan (Hamden, Conn.) pushed the Camels into the lead, which they kept for the rest of the first half.
 
After eight minutes of play, the score was 11-7 in favor of the Camels. A basket by Jeff Stockmal (Shelton, Conn.) broke up a 7-0 run by Connecticut College with nine minutes left in the half, making it a 20-12 game.  With six minutes left in the half, the momentum shifted into the Hawks' favor allowing them to close the point gap to five (18-23). With difficultly rebounding, the Hawks trailed the Camels by seven going into halftime with a score of 35-28.
 
Connecticut College outrebounded Roger Williams 27-7 in the period. Going into the second half, Coene led the Hawks with 14 points. For the Camels, Labossiere had 17 points and three steals.   
 
The Camels scored the first basket of the second half with a layup by Ryan Omslaer (Jackson, N.J.). JJ Pfohl (Trumbull, Conn.) knocked down a three after two minutes of play, ending a 5-0 run by the Camels. A layup by Bryan Donovan (Gainesville, Fla.) and threes by Coene and Ian Carmichael (Atkinson, N.H.) tightened the gap to 47-41 with 15:28 left. 
 
Despite offensive pressure by the Hawks, back to back scoring by both teams allowed the Camels to keep the lead. A three by Rich Pugliese (Middlebury, Conn.) with 5:44 left to play made it a three-point game. However, three free throws and a layup by Draffan kept the Camels in the lead. A late 12-0 run by the Camels propelled them to a win, with the final score of 78-68.
 
Coene led the Hawks with 25 points and four assists. Pfohl followed with 11 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Labossiere led the Camels with 29 points and five steals. Draffan closely followed with 17 points and nine rebounds.
 
Roger Williams (5-5) will travel to Suffolk University Tuesday evening. Connecticut College (3-5) will travel to Naples, Florida for their next game against Wells College on December 29th in the Naples Shootout tournament.