BOSTON, Mass. – Using a 14-5 run late in the second half, the Roger Williams men's basketball team (5-7, 4-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference) defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology (5-7, 1-3), 82-81, in CCC action Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The opening 6:41 saw five ties with junior Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) tying the game at 10all with 13:49 remaining. Stewart's layup started a 5-0 spurt which also ended on one of two free throws. Using a 5-0 spurt of its own, Roger Williams took a 17-14 lead after a sophomore Ty Higgins (New Marlborough, Mass.) three with 11:00 left.
• The teams continued to go back and forth throughout the remainder of the half with Leopard junior Jack Connell (Walpole, Mass.) connecting on a jumper to give the hosts a 29-27 lead with 3:40 left. The Hawks responded with a 6-2 spurt, taking a 33-29 lead on a three from graduate student John Ah Kao (Dumont, N.J.). On the ensuing possession, Connell knocked down a three, cutting the lead to 33-32, where it stood at the break.
• A layup from senior Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.) gave Roger Williams a 41-38 lead at the 16:53 mark of the second half. Wentworth responded with a 10-1 run and took a 48-42 lead with 14:33 left on a three from senior Sam Goy (Derry, N.H.) and, with 10:44 left, freshman Sean Racette (Trumbull, Conn.) had a transition layup to give the Black & Gold their largest lead of the game (57-48).
• Annus scored five straight points and junior Nate Mullen (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) followed with a layup, trimming the lead to 57-55 with 9:28 left. Connell knocked down a three to push the lead to five, however, freshman Finn Miller (Stamford, Conn.) made a layup and hit two free throws to make it a one-point (60-59) game.
• Stewart broke a 62-all tie with two free throws with 6:10 to play, however, Roger Williams used a 14-5 run to take a 76-69 lead after an Annus layup with 2:28 left. Goy drained a three to cut the lead to four before two free throws from Annus pushed the lead back to six. A Stewart layup was countered with two from the line from Annus with 10:07 left, pushing the lad back to six.
• Junior Niko Rosich (Chicago, Ill.) cut the lead in half with a three with 57 seconds left. Miller hit one of two free throws, making it a four-point game but Stewart answered with a layup with 26 seconds left. With 14 seconds left, Higgins hit one of two free throws giving the Hawks an 82-79 lead. A second-chance basket from Stewart with 1.4 seconds left brought the hosts to within one. On the ensuing inbound pass. Roger Williams turned it over, giving the Black & Gold a chance to win. However, Wentworth turned the ball back over and, with 0.9 ticks left, the Hawks missed two free throws but Wentworth was unable to get a shot off.
• Stewart led all scorers with 28 points (on 11-for-17 shooting) to go along with seven rebounds and three blocks. Goy added 16 and grabbed eight boards, while Connell scored 14 and dished out eight assists.
• Annus led the Hawks with 26 points, with Ah Kao adding 20.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Tonight marked the 72nd all-time meeting between the two teams.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth travels to crosstown rival Suffolk on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

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