SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team saw their season close in the Conference of New England (CNE) semifinals on Thursday, 97-65, in the Alumni Healthful Living Center on the Campus of Western New England.
Luka Vlajkovic tallied 22 points, going 10-for-10 from the floor with nine rebounds, while Brian Geitner and Nate Kasper had 16 and 12 points respectively, with Geitner knocking down four three pointers. Tim Restall had six assists, in the contest.
For the Hawks
Mac Annus led with 17 points, but
Ryan Higgins shot an efficient 5-of-7 from the floor with four three pointers for 14 points.
Ashton Leclerc also had double-figure points with 10.
The Hawks were the first team to strike, starting the game, with Annus finishing on a layup attempt on the opening possession of the game. The Golden Bears responded with a jumper by Restall on the ensuing possession to level the score, after Restall recovered his own rebound.
With the score knotted up at 20-20 with 10:38 to go in the opening half, Matt Houde finished his layup attempt, sparking a 9-2 run that gave WNE the lead. The Hawks went on a 6-2 run of their own ofver a 2:09 span that was capped off by a pair of Free throws from Leclerc. The Golden Bears again built out their lead, leading 42-34 with 2:55 remaining in the half, but the Hawks hit a pair of three pointers, while Luka Vlajkovic and Nate Kasper each added two for WNE. The Golden Bears closed out scoring in the half with Kasper finishing a layup with 18 seconds remaining, taking a 48-40 lead into the break.
WNE picked up where they left off in the second half, after RWU scored with Miller finishing on a layup, started a run that saw the Golden Bears holding a 58-46 lead just under four minutes into the second half.
The Hawks were able to stay within nine of the Golden Bears after a pair of free throws by Sughrue, but back-to-back three pointers put the Golden Bears up 68-53 with 12:08 to play.
After a layup by Vlajkovic, the Hawks were outscored 29-12 over the course of the final 10:18 of the game, as the Golden Bears cruised for the win.
Roger Williams (18-9, 12-6 CNE) close their season with the most victories and conference wins since the 2017-18 and 2016-17 seasons respectivley. The Hawks also recorded six games with 100 or more points, while breaking the program record for threes made in a game.
