BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Will Gerencer's (Bowdoin, Maine) 3-pointer with 2:47 left gave visiting Roger Williams a 40-38 lead and the Hawks held off a late Wentworth comeback attempt as the Roger Williams snapped the Leopards' six-game win streak with a 47-43 win in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.
The Hawks took a 5-0 lead at the start when senior James LeCardi (Fair Haven, N.J.) converted a layup and sophomore Joseph Henry (Medway, Mass.) hit a 3-pointer. Wentworth would cut the lead to three on a pair of occasions before Roger Williams took a 19-10 lead on a 3-pointer by senior Mike Engemann (Red Bank, N.J.) 3-pointer with 8:55 left.
Wentworth scored eight of the next 10 points and trailed by two when sophomore Nico Donato (Glastonbury, Conn.) hit a layup with 2:30 left. However, the Hawks scored the last five points of the half on a Henry 3-pointer and a Gerencer layup just before time expired and led, 26-18 at the break. Roger Williams held Wentworth to 22.2 percent shooting from the floor while shooting 44 percent.
A 9-0 run by the Leopards top open the half gave the hosts a 27-26 lead when senior Colin Johnson (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) sank two free throws. Johnson had six of the Leopards' nine points with a 3-pointer from junior Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) accounting for the other three.
Roger Williams countered with a 9-0 run of its own and took a 35-27 lead when freshman Josh McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) sank a shot from behind the arc with 9:39 remaining. After Mayo matched McCourt's three with one of his own, sophomore Ryan Palumbo (Warwick, R.I.) hit a mid-range jumper to put the Hawks up seven.
Wentworth scored the next eight points as junior Scott Moran (Orange, Conn.) hit two free throws and Mayo and Johnson hit back-to-back threes to give the Leopards a 38-37 lead with 4:14 remaining. After Gerencer gave Roger Williams the lead, Henry hit one of two free throws with 2:01 left to push the lead to three.
Mayo hit two from the line to cut the lead back to one before Palumbo hit one of two, and, after a missed leopard 3-pointer, gave Roger Williams a fur-point cushion when he hit two more free throws with 50 seconds left. On the ensuing possession Johnson hit one of two free throws before Mayo got the offensive rebound. Moran would drive to the basket to cut the lead to one (44-43) with 26 seconds left.
Sophomore Adam Cook (Manasquan, N.J.) was fouled with 23 seconds left and hit both free throws to make it a three-point game. Wentworth turned ball over with 12 seconds left and Palumbo, who was fouled on the inbound pass, missed both free throws. Johnson's tying attempt from behind the arc missed and LeCardi hit one of two free throws with one second left to seal the win.
Gerencer and Henry each had 11 to pace the Hawks while Palumbo added nine points, six rebounds, and four assists. Freshman Trevor Fahmy (Bedford, N.H.) had a team-high nine rebounds in the win.
Johnson and Mayo each recorded double-doubles as Mayo had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Johnson scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Mayo also had three steals. As a team the Leopards were held to 23.1 percent shooting from the floor but had a 48-34 rebounding edge.
Winners of three in a row, Roger Williams improves to 9-14 overall and 6-10 in CCC play. The Hawks host Western New England on Tuesday. The Leopards fall to 15-8 (11-5) and host Gordon, also on Tuesday.
