Roger Williams Mounts Second-Half Comeback on Men’s Basketball

BOSTON, Mass. – Down by six points with just over three minutes to play, the Roger Williams Hawks' men's basketball team mounted a late comeback in the closing minutes of the contest to take a 74-70 decision over the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Conference of New England play Tuesday night.

Roger Williams improves to 13-5 overall and 8-3 in conference play. The Leopards see their four-game win streak come to an end, holding a record of 6-12 overall and 5-6 in the CNE.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The two teams opened the night with dueling three-pointers before Roger Williams took a 5-3 edge on a Nate Lopes make. Four straight from Jack Connell gave the Leopards a 7-5 lead before back-to-back threes from Lopes and Finn Miller propelled the Hawks to an 11-7 advantage. Wentworth would drop six straight to take a 13-11 lead before a Ryan Higgins three marked a 14-13 edge.
• The Leopards rattled off another six straight, including four from Stewart, to take a 19-14 lead before a Ty Higgins three cut the deficit at 19-17. Four points from Jayden Williams and a trifecta by Nathan Brinkman factored into a 10-3 run for the Black & Gold, extending their lead to 29-20, before four straight from Mac Annus cut the deficit at 29-24.
• Stewart drained another four straight before Ty Higgins answered with a three, marking a 33-27 score, before the two teams again swapped buckets to a 35-30 score. The Leopards rattled off seven straight, including four from Stewart, to stretch their lead to 42-30 before the two teams swapped scores to mark a 44-35 game at the break.
• An 8-0 run featuring threes by Annus and Lopes brought Roger Williams within three at 44-41 to begin the second half before, after knotting the score at 46-all later on, a three by Ryan Higgins gave the Hawks a three-point lead. The Leopards cut the deficit to one and kept it there to a 51-50 score before a Stewart layup gave Wentworth a one-point edge.
• Two Annus threes continued Roger Williams one-point lead to 57-56 before another extended the lead to 60-56. Two free throw makes by Stewart and a layup by Brinkman later cut the deficit to 61-60 before a Ty Higgins trifecta marked a 64-60 game. Wentworth then rattled off a 10-0 run, featuring a three by Nathaniel Smith, to take a 70-64 lead.
• The Hawks clawed back, with four points from Annus dwindling the deficit to 70-68 before a Ryan Higgins three gave them the edge at 71-70 with 1:03 remaining. Lopes drained a three with 34 seconds left to extend the lead to 74-70 before the Leopards failed to convert on any last-second chances.
• Stewart led all scorers with 28 points (12-15 FG) and added six rebounds and a game-high four blocks. Annus led the Hawks with 26 points (10-14 FG). Ryan Higgins (15 points), Ty Higgins (12) and Nate Lopes (11) all supported Annus' team-high while Connell followed Stewart with 10 of his own.
• Wentworth shot 69 percent from the floor in the first half (20-29 FG, 3-8 3PT FG).

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 75^th all-time meeting between the two teams.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth heads to Endicott on Saturday.

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