Late Surge by Roger Williams Hands Men’s Basketball 87-76 Loss

BOSTON – A Roger Williams rally in the second half proved to be too much for Suffolk men's basketball to hold off as the Rams fell to the Hawks, 87-76, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court Tuesday. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 76 | Roger Williams 87
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-4, 0-3 CCC) | Roger Williams (5-2, 3-0 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Things were even at 7-all after the first five. Roger Williams poured in nine unanswered over the next two minutes and took a 10-point cushion at the midway point, 20-10, which forced Suffolk into its second timeout of the night.  

Out of the break, a traditional 3-point play from William Rowe ignited a Rams comeback. Rowe's sparked a 10-3 Rams run that pulled the host within three, 23-20, with 7:25 remaining before halftime.   

After Roger Williams used its first timeout, the blue-and-gold continued to pull back and treys from Aidan Sullivan and Cole LeVangie pushed the host ahead, 28-26, at the 5:44 mark.  

Over the final five minutes of the first half, the lead would flip four times and tie once, at 35. John Gates' pull-up jumper in the lane was followed by two more points in the paint from Rowe. Those back-to-back buckets helped send the blue-and-gold into the locker room up, 39-37.    

The playing field may have leveled on the Hawks second possession of the second stanza, but by the midway point Suffolk held a 12-point advantage, 63-51. 

The Hawks flew back into the thick of things thanks to an 11-3 run that sliced the Rams edge to four, 66-62, with 8:47 remaining.  

A couple freebies from Gates kept the blue-and-gold in front, but not for long. RWU rattled off 10 points in a row to regain the lead and then some, 72-68, with 5:18 to go. 

Try as it might, Suffolk's comeback chances were put to rest when the Hawks had an answer for every blue-and-gold hoop the rest of the way to seal the Rams' setback.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• LeVangie logged a 21-point performance on a 7-for-14 showing from the field to go along with four caroms, three assists, one block and one steal. 
• Rowe registered 19 points, five caroms, one dime and one takeaway. 
• Sullivan tallied 15 points, shooting 6-for-11 on the night, with seven boards, two steals and one helper to his credit. 
• Suffolk shot 48.3 percent (28-58) on the night and 78.6 percent (11-14) from the line. 
• The Rams outrebound the Hawks, 34-31. 
• Roger Williams saw four different players in double digits in Will MacDonald (24), Philip Sughure (14), Nate Lopes (14) and John Ah Kao (15). 

NOTEWORTY

• LeVangie matched a career-high 21 points, reaching the feat in back-to-back games. He also tied a personal-best in field goals made (7) and hit a personal-best five free throws. 

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up action before finals and the holidays at Tufts Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.