Men’s Basketball Coasts Past Roger Williams, 87-74

BRISTOL, R.I. – Aidan Sullivan's 21-point produced paced four different Rams in double figures to pace Suffolk men's basketball to an 87-74 victory over Roger Williams in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Tuesday night at the Campus Rec Center.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 87 | Roger Williams 74
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-1, 3-0 CCC) | Roger Williams (5-3, 2-1 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Action swayed back-and-forth over the first six minutes as the playing field leveled five times and lead swapped twice. The last advantage switch flipped in Suffolk's favor when Jake Gomez put away a lay-up at the 13:23 minute mark. The freshman's first hoop of the game sparked 9-0 Rams run that was capped off by another bucket from Gomez and put the blue-and-gold in front by nine, 22-13, with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first frame.  

Over the next eight minutes, the Hawks made things interesting and pulled within possession on multiple occasions with the last coming at the 3:22 minute mark on Drew Hart's layup that turned it into a 38-37 game. It was all Suffolk from there as Cole LeVangie sparked a half-ending 12-1 Suffolk stretch with a long ball to make it double-digit distance, 50-38, at the half. 

John Gates picked up where the Rams left off out of the locker room as he swished a triple to get the second stanza going. Roger Williams responded with an 11-5 rally to cut the distance down to three, 55-52, less than six minutes out of the intermission.  

The game of runs continued and eight consecutive points from the blue-and-gold pushed the margin back to a dozen, 67-55, at the midway point. Roger Williams continued to answer Suffolk's scoring streaks, but could never fully come back as the Rams always retaliated a Hawks rebuttal down the stretch. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Sullivan finished with 21 points on an impressive 8-for-10 showing from the floor, which included a 1-for-1 effort from 3-point land and a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the line. He added five handouts, four steals and three boards. 
• Nate Hale had 14 points to go along with seven caroms, two helpers, one swat and one takeaway. 
• LeVangie provided 14 points off the bench. He was perfect from the field, 6-for-6. That line featured one bucket from behind-the-arc and one freebie. He added four rebounds, one block and one steal. 
• Gates rounded out Rams in double digits with 12 points. He shot 5-for-8 from the field and 2-for-4 from downtown. 
• Keenan Robertson paced the effort on the glass with 10 rebounds. He added six points to the offensive output. 
• Suffolk shot 56.1 percent (37-66) from the floor, 30.8 percent (4-13) from beyond-the-arc and made all nine of its freebies.
• The Rams outrebounded the Hawks, 37-25.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk won its sixth straight game. That is the longest stretch since winning seven in a row Jan. 30-Feb. 14, 2019. 
• The 3-0 conference start is the best opening to league play since beginning its 2001-02 conference calendar 4-0. 
• The Rams defeated the Hawks for the first time since an 83-51 decision Dec. 11, 2018. 
• Suffolk moved to 7-6 all-time against Roger Williams. 
• The blue-and-gold is now 2-1 versus RWU with Juron on the bench. 
• Suffolk improved to 4-2 against the Hawks in Rhode Island. 
• Sullivan had his second 20-plus point game of the season. 
• Sullivan made a career-high eight field goals. 
• Robertson grabbed a personal-best 10 caroms. 
• Gomez produced a career-best eight points with a career-high in field goals made (4).  

EYES ON THE GAME
 

WHAT'S AHEAD?
Suffolk heads across town Thursday, Dec. 9 for a battle with UMass Boston to conclude its first semester calendar.