Salve Regina falls to Roger Williams in Bristol

BRISTOL, R.I. - The Roger Williams University men's basketball team defeated Salve Regina University in a Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup Tuesday evening with the final score of 83-64.

The first half began with both teams going back and forth as it was 8-8 after three minutes of play. A three by Ian Carmichael (Atkinson, N.H.) helped the Hawks to pull away a bit from the Seahawks, making it 23-15 with 10:46 left in the half. The Hawks would continue to hold the lead for the rest of the half.

Three-pointers by JJ Pfohl (Trumbull, Conn.) and Jake Heaton (Shelton, Conn.) allowed the Hawks to create a 14-point lead for the Hawks with six and a half minutes left in the half. Salve would later cut down the point deficit to ten with four minutes remaining. Despite the gap closure, the Hawks continued to maintain the advantage. A three by Bryan Donovan (Gainesville, Fla.) in the closing minute of the first half would give the Hawks' a 15-point lead, their largest of the half. RWU would go into halftime up 43-30.

Within the first minute of the second half, Drew Hart (Cheshire, Conn.) collected five points for the Hawks. A layup by Salve Regina's Jonathan Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.) ended a 5-0 run for Salve which was broken up by a four-point play by Heaton. The Hawks continued to knock down their three-pointers with help by Rich Pugliese (Middlebury, Conn.) and Hart who had back-to-back baskets making it 60-43.

With a little over 10 minutes remaining, the Hawks held a 19-point lead (66-47) and would go up by as many as 26. RWU continued to keep their lead throughout the rest of the half, pulling their starters with four minutes left and coasting to an 83-64 win.

Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) led Roger Williams with 19 points, nine boards and four assists. Hart closely followed, collecting 15 points while Pugliese added 11 points. Pfohl had five assists to help the Hawks grab the win.

Friberg led Salve Regina, racking up 20 points. Mikey Spencer (Abington, Mass.) added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Seahawks.

Roger Williams (10-9, 7-3 CCC) will travel to Boston this Saturday afternoon to face Wentworth at 3 p.m. Salve Regina (7-12, 3-7 CCC) will host Nichols College this Saturday at 3 p.m. as well.