SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – The No. 4 seeded Roger Williams men's basketball team is set to face off against No. 1 seeded Western New England on Thursday evening in Springfield, Mass., a Conference of New England semi-final matchup.
 
The Hawks will be coming into the matchup following an 83-75 win on Tuesday evening over Nichols College, which saw them overcome a 14-point deficit. The playoff victory can be credited to a strong second half, where the Hawks would outscore the Bison 44-28. The first-round win marks the second year in a row that the men have downed the Bison in the conference playoff tournament.
 
Roger Williams and Western New England have matched up twice already this season, with WNE controlling the season series 2-0. Their first matchup took place in Springfield, Mass on Jan. 7, where the Golden Bears would use a strong second half to push past the Hawks 90-70. The two teams would meet again in Bristol, R.I on Feb. 5, where WNE would once dominate the second frame enroute to a 78-56 win.
 
The Hawks and Golden Bears last met in the playoffs in the 2021-22 season, where the six seeded Golden Bears got the best of the third seeded Hawks, 67-63 in a first-round battle. The Hawks will be seeking retribution from this loss, as many familiar faces will be returning in the matchup set to take place Thursday evening.
 
Some players to keep an eye on for the Hawks are first year Ryan Higgins (Boston, Mass.) and graduate student Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.). Higgins is coming into the semi-final having scored 17 or more points in five of his last eight games including a 22-point effort in last night's victory over Nichols. Annus, on the other hand, has been the driving force for the Hawks conference-leading offense averaging 20.3 points per game on 54% shooting from the field, 46% shooting from three-point distance, and 87% shooting from the free throw line. For the Golden Bears, Tim Restall leads the way, averaging 16.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. He is joined by former All-American Jake Harrison, who averages 10.2 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, and 4.0 assists per game.
 
The matchup between RWU and WNE will take place at 5:30 PM in the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center at Western New England University. On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 Suffolk will travel to No. 2 Endicott on Thursday evening as well.