DUDLEY, Mass. – The No. 5-seeded Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team fell to No. 4 Nichols on Wednesday evening at the Nichols Athletic Center, 104-91, in a Conference of New England (CNE) Men's Basketball First Round matchup.
The Bison were led by Oliver St. Louis, who pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, with 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the floor, while knocking down his lone attempt from long range and all four shots at the line. Ethan Minarik had 20 points for the Bison, pulling down five rebounds, with two steals and a pair of assists, while Javen Flowers-Smith and Luke Chapman each had 18 points, with Chapman pulling down seven boards, and Flowers-Smith dishing out seven assists.
Roger Williams saw Ashton Leclerc (Gorham, Maine) lead all point scorers with 16 points, with four rebounds, while Finn Miller (Stamford, Conn.) finished a rebound shy of a double-double, recording his 1,000th career point in the process. Ryan Hammarlund (Southington, Conn.) and Asher Hercek (North Fort Myers, Fla.) each tallied 13 points, pulling down six and five rebounds, respectively. The Hawks finished with seven players in double figures as Ty Higgins (New Marlborough, Mass.), Ryan Higgins (Boston, Mass.), and Owen Boudria (Westport, Mass.) each finished with double-digit scoring.
The Hawks opened the scoring, tallying a jumper off their first possession of the game, before Ethan Minarik answered for the Bison with a three-pointer to take the lead. After hitting a free throw, Miller answered a driving layup by Darrell Hardge with a layup of his own, scoring his 1,000th career point with his layup 2:32 into the game. Ryan Higgins and Leclerc each hit a three-pointer for the Hawks to take a 13-7 advantage, ahead of Minarik hitting another three to cut the Bison's deficit to three.
Nichols then used an 8-3 run to take back the lead after a pair of free throws by Javen Flowers-Smith. Leclerc hit a turnaround jumper on the other end of the floor to knot things up at 18-18. With the score at 28-27 in favor of the Bison with 5:10 remaining in the opening half, the Bison saw St. Louis finish on a driving layup to spark a 13-5 run that gave Nichols a nine-point lead with 2:28 remaining. Ryan Higgins knocked down a three on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to six, before hitting a pair of free throws later on ahead of a three by Chapman to put the halftime score at 44-37.
In the second half, with 17:36 remaining, Nichols began a 19-5 run over a 4:54 span, taking a 69-47 lead with 12:40 remaining. The Hawks went on a stretch out scoring the Bison, 19-10, ending at the 6:54 mark in the second half. The Hawks, trailing by 13, were able to come back within 10 with 1:40 remaining after Boudria made his two free throw attempts at the line, but it was not enough as Nichols was able to hold on for the win.
No. 4 Nichols (15-11, 9-7 CNE) will travel to face No. 1 Endicott on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 PM in MacDonald Gymnasium.
Roger Williams (12-14, 8-8 CNE) see their season come to a close after reaching the CNE Tournament.
