BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team earned another close win for the second straight game, this time defeating Wheaton College (Mass.) in overtime Saturday afternoon by a 70-66 score.
Roger Williams wins two in a row for the first time this season and moves over .500, improving to 4-3. Wheaton has now dropped back-to-back games and falls to 5-4.
Strong shooting and good defense helped give the Hawks a seven-point halftime lead (29-22). Roger Williams shot 50% from the field in the first period (11-of-22) while holding the Lyons to a 30.3% clip in the half (10-of-33).
Roger Williams held its lead for most of the beginning of the second half, going up by as many as 12. A pair of free throws by Joseph Henry (Medway, Mass.) gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game with 9:15 left to play (47-35).
Yet the Lyons continued to fight their way back into the game, utilizing a 13-1 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, Mass.) to tie the game at 48 apiece with just over six minutes to play. A layup by Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass.) gave Wheaton its first lead of the game (52-50) with 4:28 to play.
Wheaton held on to the lead for the remainder of the game until the closing seconds of the game. With 2.5 seconds left on the clock, Matt Grossbard (Pearl River, N.Y.) found James LeCardi (Fair Haven, N.J.) open in the corner for the game-tying three-pointer, knotting the game at 60 and sending it to overtime.
Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, R.I.) scored the first basket of the extra period, but Grossbard would eventually give RWU the lead back with a layup in the paint to make it 66-64. In the final minute, LeCardi knocked down a pair of free throws to put RWU on top 69-66. On the Lyons' next possession, a poor pass was picked off by Adam Cook (Manasquan, N.J.) to give RWU the ball and ultimately hold on for the win.
Grossbard led all players with 18 points, while LeCardi had 15 points and three rebounds. Matt Clifford (Norwood, Mass.) added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Mike Igoe (Lexington, Mass.) finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
Capstick led Wheaton with 14 points. Weeks and Will Bayliss (Manchester, N.H.) each finished with 13 points. Degnan added 11 points and four rebounds. Cliften Desravines (Somerville, Mass.) had six points and seven rebounds.
Roger Williams will be off for the remainder of the semester before traveling to Union on January 2nd. Wheaton hosts Vassar on January 3rd.