Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. (November 29, 2023) – The Western New England men's basketball team looked to hand Roger Williams their sixth straight loss to open the season, though the Hawks would deny that opportunity, going on an 11-0 scoring run in the final five minutes of the game to take the CCC game from the Golden Bears by a final score of 90-79.
Records:
- Western New England: 4-3, 0-1 CCC
- Roger Williams University: 1-5, 1-0 CCC
How it Happened:
The two teams would battle in the first half, starting off red-hot from the field.
Jake Harrison opened the game with the first layup of the game for the Golden Bears, while John Ah Kao would connect on a triple for Roger Williams, as both teams would take an early lead within the first minute of the game.
Mike Resnick would respond with a three-ball of his own while
Harrison would get to the cup as the Golden Bears would come away with a 7-3 lead. Philip Sughrue would cash in from three as the Hawks would start the game with a perfect 5/5 from three to give Roger Williams a 14-10 lead. Finn Miller would help the Hawks take their largest lead of the game thus far, at 21-13, with a made layup. With 11:47 remaining, Roger's Sean Gogolin would cash in for another Hawks three-ball, giving RWU an 11-point lead, their largest of the first half. From there, Western New England would come away with a run to spark their offense again.
Melvin Kolenovic would start the scoring for WNE with a made layup, while
Jake Harrison and
Cody Palazzesi would get on the board to cut Roger Williams lead.
Nate Kasper would knock down his third tree pointer of the season, giving Western New England 24 points in the game with 8:24 to play.
Jake Harrison's layup would drop Roger Williams' lead to four at 30-26 before Roger Williams would double their lead from there, retaking an eight-point lead with just under seven minutes to play in the first half.
Gavin Greene would catch fire for Western New England late in the first half, while
Cody Palazzesi and Mike Renick would help WNE retake the lead with 2:49 to play, coming back from an 11-point deficit.
Brian Geitner would finish the first half for Western New England with a triple, as the blue and gold would come away with a one-point lead at the break. The Golden Bears and Hawks both shot 7/12 from three-point land, while WNE shot 63% in total from the field.
Western New England would quickly extend their lead to start the second half, as
Gavin Greene and
Mike Resnick would get on the board early while
Cody Palazzesi would put Western New England ahead by five.
Resnick would continue his hot shooting on the season, cashing in from three to give Western New England their biggest lead of the game at eight points with 16 minutes to play in the contest. Roger Williams would attempt to climb back into the game as Finn Miller would get to the paint to score his 13
th point of the night. Following another three-pointer from Western New England, Roger Williams would mount a comeback and would come around to even the score at 66 with under nine minutes to play when John Ah Kao connected from just inside the arc on a two-point shot as RWU would come back from eight down in the half. A battle down the stretch would see RWU grab their first lead since the first half as Finn Miller and Sean Gogolin would score for the Hawks, sending RWU to a 73-70 lead with 6:00 to play. The Hawks would never lose that lead, converting nine straight points, including two big three-point shots, as the Hawks would pick up their first victory of the season, defeating Western New England 90-79.
Inside the Lines:
- Western New England shot 55% from the field, including 9/19 from three-point territory, in the loss.
- Cody Palazzesi returned to the lineup for Western New England and led the Golden Bears with 18 points in the game on 5/6 shooting, including 3/3 from distance.
- Mike Resnick (17), Gavin Greene (15), and Jake Harrison (15) all recorded double digits in scoring for the Golden Bears.
- Western New England held their largest lead at 64-56 with 12:34 remaining, though RWU scored 34 points in the final 12 minutes of the game to take down the blue and gold.
- Roger Williams was led by Finn Miller, who dropped 23 points on the night on 10/12 shooting.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- Western New England will look to rebound from their two-game losing streak by hosting the University of New England on Saturday, December 2, at 3:00 PM.
