CHESTER, Pa. – The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament begins Friday, Mar. 1, with the Hawks of Roger Williams opening against #13 Widener in the First Round, hosted by the Pride.
 
The Hawks earned their trip after taking home their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Title in 25 years.  The Hawks were the No. 5 seed coming into the conference tournament and earned a spot in the championship game after defeating No. 4 Wentworth and the six-time defending CCC Champion No. 1 Nichols on the road.  The Hawks then edged out No. 4 Suffolk, 79-76, to earn the squad's first ever NCAA Tournament berth.
 
On the national level, Roger Williams ranks 15^th in the country in field goal percentage, making their shots from the floor at a 48.8 percent clip.  The Hawks also rank in the top 20 in three-point percentage, connecting on 38.4 percent of their shots from distance. Roger Williams also averaged the second most assists per game in the CCC with 16.9 per game.
 
The Hawks offense ranked third in the CCC in points per game, scoring 80.9 per contest over their 28 games this season, including a season-high 106 points against Gordon on Saturday, Jan. 6. With a potent offense the Hawks defense ranked eighth through all CCC Tournament contests giving up 80.8 points per game, while allowing teams to connect on 47.1 percent of their shots from the floor.
 
Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.) ranked second in the conference and first on the team in scoring average on the season, closing the CCC Tournament averaging 20.4 points per game, with a field goal percentage of 52.8 percent ranking fourth in the conference.  Annus was the most potent shooter in the CCC in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 42 percent from long range, ranking 14^th nationally.
 
John Ah Kao (Dumont, N.J.) adds 14.8 points per game with a shooting percentage of 48.9 percent. Ah Kao also averaged 3.7 boards per contest, with 73 assists on the season, paired with 14 steals and three blocks. Philip Sughrue (Winchester, Mass.) leads the team with 110 assists on the season, ranking atop the conference in assists per game.
 
Defensively, Sughrue leads the team with 34 steals on the season, while Sean Gogolin (Winchester, Mass.) has 41 blocks leading the Hawks. Freshman, Finn Miller (Stamford, Conn.) averages 7.0 rebounds per game, pairing the high for Roger Williams with 11.6 points per game.
 
Widener enters the contest 23-4, falling in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth Championship game to Eastern, 98-69.
 
Widener received an at large birth coming in at #16 in this week's d3hoops.com national rankings. The Pride sit third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio with 1.61, while also sitting in the top 20 in scoring margin, holding a plus 13.1.
 
Leading the ranks is Dominic Dunn, who leads the team in points and rebounds, while also leading the team with seven double-doubles on the year. Howie Rankine Jr. is the teals leader in assists and steals, ranking atop the conference in steals, and sitting third in the MAC with 100 assists on the season.
 
The two teams will face off on Friday, Mar. 1 at 7:40 pm in the Schwartz Center in Chester, Pa. with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round at 7:40 pm on Saturday, Mar. 2 against the winner of #24 Christopher Newport and Hobart.