BRISTOL, R.I. – The third-seeded Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team's season came to a close by way of a 63-67 defeat to the sixth-seeded Western New England Golden Bears Tuesday evening in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Quarterfinals.
 
Hawk Highlights
Drew Hart: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
Mac Annus: 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
Nate Lopes: 11 points, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
EJ Nelson: 4 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
 
For The Opponents
Alex Sikorski: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assist, 4 steals
Brian Geitner: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Gavin Greene: 5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Jake Harrison: 9 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
 
How It Happened
After an exciting game to close out the regular season that saw the Hawks come back from a 15-point deficit over the Golden Bears and secure the third seed in the CCC, the two teams were back at it again in the CCC Quarterfinals.
 
A slow start to the opening quarter that saw a 2-2 tie four minutes into the match. Roger Williams got a Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.) three pointer from the top of the arc to break the deadlock and take the lead. After that, the two teams began trading blows as Western New England went on a 10-4 run, led by Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn.), to take a 12-9 lead. Once again, Annus came through for Roger nailing another three to tie up the game. Back-to-back layups from Nate Lopes (Scituate, Mass.) gave RWU a four-point lead at the halfway point in the first half. On the defensive end, EJ Nelson (Essex Junction, Vt.) led the way on the boards grabbing three on the defensive end.
 
With 7:30 left in the half, Charles Mukweva (Harare, Zimbabwe) grabbed his second steal of the game, helping to solidify a strong defensive front that held the Golden Bears scoreless for five minutes. A Gavin Greene (Monroe, Conn.) three pointer ended the scoreless run, but Roger Williams had an answer in the form of a three of their own from All-CCC First Teamer Eli Harris (Falmouth, Mass.). Then, with just two minutes left in the half, fellow All-CCC First Teamer Drew Hart (Cheshire, Conn.) had two three-point plays of his own getting the and-one to go up 10, then hitting a three to once again give the Hawks a double-digit lead. Western New England once again responded to the Hawks' offense, cutting the home team's lead to eight going into the second frame.
 
Coming out of the locker room, the Golden Bears kept chipping away at the Hawks lead, scoring seven unanswered points bringing the lead down to just one point. Sikorski continued to lead the charge for WNE, drilling a three on their opening possession and then followed that up with a dunk off his own steal. A good look for John Ah Kao (Dumont, N.J.) to add to the Hawks lead was quickly shut down by a block from Tim Restall (Tolland, Conn.). Brian Geitner (Tolland, Conn.) then got another steal for the Golden Bears and rolled the ball in off a breakaway. Sikorski drained a three after a Nelson layup, and drained another one after an Ah Kao three ball as Western New England took a 40-38 lead before Harris rolled in a layup of his own. Another steal by Sikorski off Lopes after a Geitner layup saw Harris immediately return the favor taking the ball back at mid court then tossing up the rock for a soaring Lopes to match the score at 42. A strong sequence on the boards for Hart that saw him grab two back to back on the offensive end before dropping in the layup to regain the lead was once again followed up by a response from WNE. This time, Jake Harrison (South Boston, Mass.) got the layup before both teams hit a cold streak on offense with each side scoring two points over the next three and a half minutes of play.
 
With eight and a half minutes left, the Golden Bears hit their stride scoring seven unanswered points off the hands of Sikorski and Harrison to take a seven-point lead. Following free throws from both Lopes and Annus, and another response from Harrison to keep WNE up seven, Hart stepped in hitting two shots from the line, and then knocking down a corner three to get the Hawks back within two. However, following the trend of the game, Western New England kept answering, and just like earlier, it was Harrison and Sikorski scoring the points for the visitors to go back up seven. With 1:56 left, Annus drained a deep three to keep the Hawks within striking distance of the Bears, getting the home squad within four. Geitner then got a layup of his own before Lopes quickly for the Hawks. A trip to the line for Kenny Flynn (Dudley, Mass.) where he converted only one of two was then followed up by another three-point play by Hart to get Roger Williams within two with 23 seconds left. On the inbound pass, Nelson tipped it away from the Bears, but the Hawks were unable to convert on a layup and a tip-in attempt, and instead, Nelson fouled out while sending Geitner to the line where he converted one of two. A defensive rebound by Hart off the layup led to a Lopes attempt at a three to tie it, but the shot didn't fall, as the Hawks season came to an end.
 
What's Next
Roger Williams (14-10): Season Complete
Western New England (13-13): Thursday, February 24 at Salve Regina (CCC Semifinals)