BRISTOL, R.I. -- Austin Coene scored 18 of his game-high 29 points in the second half to lead sixth-seeded Roger Williams University to a 75-58 victory over seventh-seeded University of New England in the semifinal round of the 2016 Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship Thursday night (Feb. 25) at the Campus Rec Center.

Coene was 9 of 15 from the floor, including a 5-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. He also converted all six of his free throw attempts, grabbed seven rebounds and totaled three steals for the Hawks (12-15), who will face No. 4 Endicott College in Saturday's championship game. The Gulls upset top-seeded Nichols College in Thursday's other semifinal.

Jaylen Jennings came off the bench to score 12 points for Roger Williams, which shot a sizzling 55.6 percent (10 of 18) on three-point field goal attempts. 

Devin Thompson led UNE (14-13) with 13 points, while CJ Autry tallied 12. Ben Judson added eight points, including a pair of three-balls.

Trailing 3-2 a minute into the contest, the Hawks utilized a 19-5 spurt over a span of seven minutes to build a 21-8 lead at the 11:51 mark. UNE would respond with seven consecutive points to close within six (21-15), but Roger Williams fought back with a 9-3 spurt to push its cushion back to double digits (30-18) -- a margin they would enjoy the rest of the evening.

The Hawks took a 41-29 lead into halftime and led by as many as 20 (57-37) in the second frame.

Roger Williams shot 46 percent (23 of 50) from the floor, compared to 31.7 percent (19 of 60) accuracy for the Nor'easters. UNE also made just 5 of 20 (25 percent) three-point attempts.

The Nor'easters' win total (14) is the highest for the program since the championship season of 2008-09, and an improvement of six victories over last year and 13 from two seasons ago.