Box Score BRISTOL, R.I.--Senior Dennis Rinaldi pumped in a game-high 21 points to lead three Golden Bears in double figures, but visiting Western New England began a new calendar year with a 76-65 Commonwealth Coast Conference men's basketball loss at Roger Williams at the Campus Recreation Center on Saturday. The host Hawks improve to 2-8 overall and 1-2 in the CCC, while the Golden Bears drop to 2-7 and 0-3.
 
Junior Musa Elsir added 15 points and senior Nick DeFeo had 14 for Western New England, which took a 5-0 lead after the opening 48 seconds on a Rinaldi three-point play and Elsir jumper. 

Roger Williams was led by the scoring trio of Chris Bardwell, Ryan Palumbo and Zac Campbell who tallied 18, 16 and 16 points, respectively, and combined to make 19 of 28 field goal attempts for a .679 shooting percentage. Palumbo also made 6-of-7 free throw attempts and Campbell converted four 3-point field goals. The rest of the Hawks team went 8-for-25 (.320) from the field.

The Golden Bears remained on top until a layup by Josh Syska gave the Hawks a 10-9 advantage with 14 minutes and 21 seconds to play in the first half.

The Hawks managed to extend the lead to seven at 18-11--their largest of the half--on a Bardwell basket with 9:04 to go. But, the Golden Bears were able to claw their way back, tying it at 26 apiece on a Rinaldi jumper to cap a 6-0 run. The Hawks, however, closed the half with a 6-2 run to take a 32-28 lead into the locker room.

Roger Williams, which shot 50.9 percent from the field (27-53), enjoyed a huge advantage at the free throw line, outscoring the Golden Bears 17 to 4 there.

Both teams pulled down 31 rebounds as DeFeo, a guard, led WNE with seven to top all players, and Palumbo had six for RWU. DeFeo completed a strong afternoon by dishing out a career-high six assists to pace all passers.

Roger Williams turned a four-point halftime lead quickly into a 46-34 cushion by the 15:11 mark in the second half, led by Joseph Henry knocking down a layup and a 3-pointer followed by back-to-back jumpers from Bardwell.

DeFeo then drained back-to-back treys to bring the Golden Bears back within six points, but they couldn't get closer than that margin.

Leading 68-61 with 1:33 to go, the Hawks made 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Bardwell finished with five rebounds while Campbell added three steals.

Western New England returns to action on Tuesday when it entertains CCC foe Gordon at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. In addition, the Golden Bears non-conference home game versus Western Connecticut State that was postponed due to Thursday's snowstorm has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. in the AHLC.

(Editor's note: Rogers Williams Athletic Communications contributed to this game report.)