Feb 21, 2015
BRISTOL, R.I. -- Roger Williams University closed the opening period on a 10-2 run to separate from a one-point contest on the way to a 71-49 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's basketball victory in the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 21) at the Campus Rec Center.
The Hawks (9-16, 7-11 CCC) secure the sixth seed for the upcoming CCC Championship, while the Nor'easters (7-18, 5-13 CCC) settle into the eighth seed.
Andrew Wasik led the way for RWU with 17 points, including going 5-of-8 from downtown. He and Ryan Palumbo, who had 14 points and four steals, each recorded five assists. Joe Syska tallied 12 points and corralled seven rebounds for the home team, which posted a 32-23 advantage on the glass.
Roger Williams shot 54 percent from the floor and 12-of-24 from three-point range.
UNE received 14 points from Devin Thompson, and Gavin Dibble contributed eight.
The Hawks used a 14-2 run to jump ahead (24-13) during the early portion of the 1st half. Alex Puzone and Trevor Fahmy notched nine of their combined 16 points in the stretch.
While the Nor'easters responded with 12 of the next 14 to get within one (26-25), Wasik canned consecutive treys as RWU pushed back to gain a 36-27 cushion at intermission.
Thompson pulled UNE as close as eight (40-32), but after three minutes without either side scoring, Roger Williams spent the ensuing 4:28 embarking on a 16-4 span that brought the spread to 56-36. The Hawks struck with three-pointers to jump start the run -- Wasik twice and then Puzone.
Both teams hit the road Tuesday for the opening round of the conference tournament -- RWU to Eastern Nazarene, and the Nor'easters to Nichols.