SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team avoided a late scare from Western New England University Monday evening, holding off a late comeback from the Golden Bears to earn an 86-83 win.
 
Hawk Highlights
Drew Hart: 21 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block
Eli Harris: 29 points, 2 rebounds
Mac Annus: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
EJ Nelson: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
 
For The Opponents
Tim Restall: 28 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists
Jake Harrison: 26 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 steals
Brian Geitner: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Brian Berrito: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
 
How It Happened
After Eli Harris (Falmouth, Mass.) kicked off the game with a layup, the Hawks went scoreless over the next three minutes while Western New England scored ten unanswered points. Brian Geitner would later give the Golden Bears their largest lead of the game with a three-pointer to put them up 19-6.
 
RWU would spend the next six minutes chipping away at the deficit until Nate Lopes (Scituate, Mass.) laid in a basket to make it 25-27 with 8:13 left in the half. However, Western New England would not let the Hawks tie the game or retake the lead over the remainder of the period. The half would end with WNE holding onto a 40-39 lead after Harris drained a three in the closing seconds.
 
Western New England's one-possession lead held the most of the early part of the second half until a three by Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.) put RWU up 54-52 with 15:24 left. Jake Harrison's trey on the other put WNE back up by one, with a free throw by Tim Restall later doubling that lead.
 
Will MacDonald (York, Maine) would then hit a layup that sparked an 11-2 run that put RWU up by seven with ten minutes left to play. The Hawks would build that lead to 14 with five minutes left and appeared to be on their way to a comfortable win, but the Golden Bears would not go down quietly.
 
WNE made it a one-point game in the final minute and had an opportunity to take the lead with four seconds left but a missed layup kept the lead in RWU's favor. EJ Nelson (Essex Junction, Vt.) secured the rebound and sank both free throws to put RWU up three. On the final possession, Harrison's potential game-tying three-pointer did not find the bottom of the net as RWU hung on for the win.
 
What's Next
Roger Williams (10-6, 7-4 CCC): Wednesday, February 2 at Gordon @ 7:30pm
Western New England (8-9, 6-5 CCC): Wednesday, February 2 vs. Endicott @ 7:30pm