Roger Williams Routs Men’s Basketball, 87-78

BOSTON – Suffolk men's basketball dropped an 87-78 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) contest to Roger Williams Saturday afternoon at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 78 | Roger Williams 87
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-2, 1-1 CCC) | Roger Williams (2-5, 2-0 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Roger Williams burst out to an 11-2 lead that forced Jeff Juron to use a timeout less than three minutes into the contest.  

Out of the huddle, Keenan Robertson sparked a 9-2 Rams run that pulled the blue-and-gold within two of the Hawks, 13-11, and saw Roger Williams call a timeout of its own. 

The Hawks went on an 11-5 spurt to take a 24-16 cushion at the 11:03 mark. Once again, the Rams played catchup and thanks to Evan Cook and Owen Walters Suffolk leveled the playing field at 29-all with just under 6:30 remaining before halftime. 

From there, Suffolk gained a 39-34 lead at the 3:25 mark. The Hawks scored 11 unanswered to flip the script in their favor, 45-39. Danny Yardemian swished a jumper as first half time expired to trim the gap down to four, 45-41. 

Suffolk fell behind by 10, 51-41, right out of the locker room. The Rams battled back time after time to remain within a pair of possessions and truly made things interesting after a 14-4 stretch that put the host within five and helped the blue-and-gold lock things at 74-all with 4:22 left.  

The Rams scoring hit a lull from there and the Hawks outscored the blue-and-gold, 13-4 the rest of the way to seal Suffolk's setback. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING             

• Nick Verdile put together an 18-point performance on a 7-for-10 showing from the floor, which included a 4-for-7 showing from downtown. 
• Walters chipped in 17 points behind a 7-for-12 effort from the field to go along with five rebounds and one block. 
• Robertson registered 17 points and 11 caroms. He shot 5-for-10 from the field and 7-for-12 at the line. 
• Cook contributed 11 points, five rebounds and five handouts. 
• Yardemian tallied 11 points as well with six dimes, three takeaways and one block. He shot 4-for-7 from the floor. 
• Suffolk shot 48.3 percent (28-58) as a team, and just 21.1 percent (4-19) from 3-point land. 
• At the charity stripe, the Rams put together a 75.0 connection rate (18-24). 
• The Rams outrebounded the Hawks, 35-28. 
• Suffolk's bench contributed 35 of the team's 78 points, while RWU's reserves chipped in just 10. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Robertson notched his first double-double of the year, sixth of his career. 
• Yardemian matched a career-high in assists (6) and steals (3) and had the first block of his collegiate career. 
• Cook dished out a personal-best five helpers. He matched a career-high one swat. 
• Verdile had a career-high, posting personal-best in points (18), field goals made (7), field goals attempted (10), 3-point field goals made (4) and 3-point field goals attempted (7).
• Declan Davis logged one rebound for the second time in his career. 
• Walters produced a personal-best in points (17), rebounds (5). He took the first three throws of his collegiate career (3-3) and had his first collegiate block. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up action before finals Tuesday, Dec. 5 when it welcomes Endicott to Smith Court for a 7:30 p.m. battle.