SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University men's basketball outscored the Western New England Golden Bears 44-42 in the second half, but were unable to overcome a first half deficit, falling to their Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponent Wednesday evening, 89-78.
 
The Hawks were led by Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.) who tallied 28 points on a 9-of-14 night from the floor, that included knocking down 5-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc. Annus also pulled down six rebounds, while dishing out an assist. Ty Higgins (New Marlborough, Mass.) provided 17 points off the bench knocking down five shots from three-point range, while Sean Gogolin (Winchester, Mass.) and Philip Sughrue (Winchester, Mass.) scored nine and eight respectively, with Sughrue pulling down seven boards, and dishing seven assists.
 
Western New England was led by Jake Harrison who had 33 points on a 12-13 night from the floor, while dishing out eight assists.  Harrison also pulled down four rebounds along with two blocks and three steals.
 
After the Golden Bears jumped out to a 22-8 lead in the opening 7:17 of play before Higgins knocked down a three-point jumper to cut the Western New England lead to 11. With 10:16 remaining in the first half, Higgins knocked down another three, cutting the deficit to six, before the Golden Bears went on a run capped off by a Gavin Greene layup to take a 39-20 advantage.
 
The Hawks were able to cut into the lead, taking a 13-point deficit into the halftime break, trailing, 47-34.
 
The Hawks trailed throughout the second half, cutting the deficit to 11 within the final minute of play.
 
Roger Williams (12-8, 9-4 CCC) will host Gordon on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3 pm before taking on Salve Regina on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 pm. The Hawks will then play at Wentworth on Saturday, Feb. 11.