BOSTON, Mass. – Junior guard Matt Grossbard's (Pearl River, N.Y.) three pointer as time expired lifted the Roger Williams men's basketball team to a 59-56 win over Wentworth in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Saturday afternoon at Tansey Gymnasium.
Grossbard's heroics came after the Leopards – on their third chance – tied the game at 56-all on a senior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) jumper in the lane with 3.3 seconds left.
The Hawks led by as much as seven (11-4) with 14:11 left in the opening stanza. After two free throws from Dombrowski and a layup from freshman forward John-Michael Fragnoli (Scotia, N.Y.) cut the lead to three, junior forward Matt Clifford (Norwood, Mass.) hit a pair of free throws to increase the lead to five.
Roger Williams led, 15-10, with 9:39 left on a basket by freshman forward Joseph Henry (Medway, Mass.) before the Leopards used an 8-0 run – capped off by a three pointer from junior guard Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine) – to take an 18-15 lead. The lead would change hands three times before freshman forward Bo Leary (Auburn, Maine) hit one of two free throws to give the hosts a 24-23 lead. Sophomore guard Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) ended the first half scoring with a basket with 55 seconds left, giving Wentworth a 26-23 lead.
Neither team shot well in the first half, with Roger Williams connecting on 33.3 percent of its shots and Wentworth 24.2 percent.
A layup by Mayo and two trifectas from Therriault pushed the Leopard lead to 34-23 with 16:45 remaining in the contest. Wentworth led by 11 again on a pair of junior guard Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) free throws, but the Hawks answered with a 12-1 run and knotted the game at 37-all on a three pointer from junior guard James LeCardi (Fair Haven, N.J.) with 13:30 to play.
Wentworth led, 43-39, on a pair of Therriault free throws with 10:19 to play, but the Hawks used a 7-0 run and took a 46-43 lead when senior forward Pat Flanagan (Somerville, Mass.) hit two free throws with 7:58 remaining.
After a pair of lead changes the Leopards took a 52-48 lead with 3:46 left before Roger Williams scored the next five points, taking a 53-52 lead on a LeCardi three with 2:07 left. The Leopards regained the lead (54-53) on two Mayo free throws with 1:54 left before Grossbard converted a layup to give the Hawks a 55-54 lead with 44.1 seconds left.
Out of a time out, Wentworth turned the ball over and immediately fouled. Freshman guard Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) hit one of two free throws to up the lead to 56-54 with 31 seconds left.
Wentworth missed a pair of three pointers back-to-back, and, on the second miss, called time out after gaining the rebound. Out of the timeout Dombrowski tied the game at 56-all with his jumper in the lane.
Roger Williams called a time out after the basket, setting the stage for Grossbard's heroics. Grossbard's attempt hit the back of the rim and bounced in as time expired.
Junior forward Mike Engemann (Red Bank, N.J.) led all scorers with 17 points, while Grossbard finished with 11. The Hawks shot 54.2 percent from the floor in the second half, including 60 percent from behind the arc.
Therriault paced Wentworth with 13 points while Mayo added 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
The Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak, improving to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in league play. Wentworth dropped its second straight, falling to 7-5 (3-3). Both teams are in action Tuesday night, as Roger Williams hosts Nichols and Wentworth is at Salve Regina.
