BOSTON, Mass. – The No. 5 Roger Williams University men's basketball team came out on top Tuesday evening at the Nelson Recreation Center, 84-74, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament First Round against No. 4 Wentworth.

Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.) was responsible for 30 points with six rebounds, going 11-for-17 from the floor knocking down five three pointers. John Ah Kao (Dumont, N.J.) also added 13 points with four rebounds, shooting 66.7 percent from beyond the arc, while also dishing out seven assists. Finn Miller (Stamford, Conn.) scored 12 points with five rebounds, with Philip Sughrue (Winchester, Mass.) scoring seven points, pulling down a team high eight boards.

Tyler Stewart had 26 points with a game-high 22 rebounds. Jack Connell tallied 14 points with five rebounds, with seven assists, and Sam Goy and Nathaniel Smith each added eight points in the contest.

The Hawks held an 18-15 advantage in points off turnovers, with the Leopards outscoring the Hawks 18-6 in second chance opportunities.  The Hawks bench scored four more points, but Wentworth held a 40-24 edge in the paint. Roger Williams went 14-for-31 from long range, while holding the Leopards 6-for-30 from three.

The Leopards held a slight four-point edge just under six minutes into the contest, after Goy knocked down a three for Wentworth. Goy's three would spark five straight points for Wentworth before the Hawks hit back-to-back shots from distance, by Ty Higgins (New Marlborough, Mass.) and Ah Kao. Wentworth led 22-18 with 8:15 remaining, before Miller put in a pair of free throws and Annus knocked down a three giving Roger Williams the lead with 7:39 remaining in the opening half.

After Jack Connell finished on a layup attempt with 6:35 to give Wentworth a one-point lead, the Hawks went on an 8-0 run, jumping out to a seven-point lead. Wentworth cut the lead back down to three with 4:08 remaining in the opening stanza, but the Hawks would hold them at bay, leading at the half, 39-37.

In the second half the Hawks took control of the contest, opening by scoring the first four points of the frame. After Annus knocked down a jumper in the paint with 16:58 remaining, the Leopards went on a 7-0 run to cut the Hawks' lead to one with 12:41 on the clock. The Hawks responded however with 12 straight points, taking a 61-48 lead.
The Leopards would cut the lead back to single digits with 7:20 remaining, with the Hawks leading by seven, but Roger Williams watched buckets by Harrison Latimer (Topsfield, Mass.) and Ah Kao go in giving the Hawks a double digit lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way with 6:23 on the clock.

No. 5 Roger Williams (12-14, 8-8 CCC) will travel to No. 1 Nichols for a CCC Tournament Semifinal on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7:00 pm in the Nichols Athletic Center. The winner will advance to the CCC Championship Game on Saturday, Feb. 24.