BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Eli Harris (Falmouth, Maine) scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the first half to help pace the Roger Williams University men's basketball team (4-2) to a 78-69 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology (2-3) in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both teams.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
LEADING SCORERS: Trey Carrier, 19; Sam Goy, 18; Kyle Henseler, 10
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Carrier, 8; Henseler, 6
ASSIST LEADERS: Henseler, 4; Carrier 3
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Wentworth took a pair of early, two-point leads with senior Trey Carrier (Wilton, N.H.) scoring the Leopards' first four points. A three from Harris gave Roger Williams its first lead of the game and ignited a 16-2 run with Harris scoring seven of those 16 points and junior John Ah Ko (Dumont, N.J.) adding six on two three pointers.
- With the Hawks leading 25-12 with 9:21 left, junior Conor Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) put home a second-chance basket and, after Roger Williams scored on its next possession, freshman Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) hit two free throws to bring the lead back to 11. The Hawks followed with a 15-5 run, taking their largest lead of the night when sophomore Mac Annus (Belmont, Mass.) hit a three to make it 42-21 with 2:19 left. Four straight points from sophomore Sam Goy (Derry, N.H.) brought the lead down to 17 (42-25) at the break. Roger Williams shot 50 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes.
- The Black & Gold opened the second half on a 9-3 run and cut the lead to 11 on a three-pointer from senior Kevin Fernandez (Lawrence, Mass.). Roger Williams quickly responded, pushing the lead back to 15 on a pair of occasions, including after a layup from sophomore Justin Tedeschi (Smithfield, R.I.) ,ade it 51-36 with 14:36 remaining.
- Using a 15-5 run, Wentworth cut the lead to five (56-51) with 9:23 left on a three from Goy. The Leopards pulled within five two more times, including on a Carrier layup with 4:23 remaining, however, the Hawks answered with back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Nate Mullen (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Harris to take a 70-59 lead with 2:18 to play.
- Annus added 13 points and dished out six assists in the win while Ah Kao was also in double figures with 10.
- Carrier led the Leopards with 19 points to go along with eight rebounds. Goy had a career-high 18 points and four rebounds, while senior Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) added 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out four assists.
SERIES NOTES:
- Tonight marked the 68th meeting between the two teams. Roger Williams holds a 39-29 series advantage.
NEXT UP:
- Wentworth is at Gordon on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. That same day, Roger Williams hosts Curry.
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