BRISTOL, R.I. – The Worcester State University men's basketball fell to Roger Williams University79-63 in a Saturday afternoon New Year's Eve non-conference matchup. The Hawks rallied from a 15-point first half deficit to claim their fourth straight win.
Worcester State's Mickey Lyons (Burlington, Mass.) opened the game with a layup on the Lancers' second possession of the game. Worcester State would score the first six points of the game and hold on to the lead for the entire first half of play.
Lyons later gave the Lancers their largest lead of the game at the 7:52 mark with another layup to make it a 26-11 Worcester State lead. The Lancers would ultimately go into the break with a 35-26 advantage.
Worcester State kept the Hawk offense in check in the first half, holding Roger Williams to only 33.3 percent from the field (10-for-30) in the period. In addition, the Lancers shot 46.9 percent from the floor (15-for-32) while outrebounding Roger Williams by a 24-13 margin.
In the second half, the tide began to turn in the Hawks' favor. Roger Williams pulled within one over the first five minutes of play, with Nick Marini (Loudonville, N.Y.) making it a 42-43 game after going 1-of-2 at the line.
It would not be until the 13:34 mark when the Hawks took their first lead of the game. Andrew Wasik (Gainesville, Fla.) forced a turnover and found a streaking Marini for the easy layup, putting Roger Williams on top 46-45.
Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) built the lead to five with a three-point play with 9:40 left. Roger Williams' advantage hovered between two and five over the next five minutes as the Hawks refused to give up the lead.
The Lancers would be done in by a lack of offense in the end, as Roger Williams outscored Worcester State 11-0 over the final five minutes of the game to earn the win.
Coene led all scorers with 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Conor O'Brien (Sharon, Mass.) finished with 14 points, while Marini went for ten points, five boards, and five assists. Wasik also added 11 points and five assists.
Paul Brooks (Arlington, Mass.) finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and three blocks before fouling out. Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) went for 20 points, four boards, and three assists off the bench. Aaron Anniballi (Milford, Mass.) logged four points and six assists.
Roger Williams (8-2) begins the New Year with a Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup against Eastern Nazarene on Tuesday at 7:00pm. Worcester State (1-10) travels to MCLA on Wednesday for a 5:30pm game.
Release Courtesy of Roger Williams Sports Information