Roger Williams Uses Big First Half & Strong Finish to Top Golden Bears, 101-82

Pettway scores 20 of team-high 22 points over final 20 minutes of action

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 14, 2017) – The Western New England University men's basketball team shaved 13 points off a 22-point halftime deficit, but the Golden Bears were unable to complete the comeback in a 101-82 setback to Roger Williams University this evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
• Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the Golden Bears with a team-high 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe to go along with three rebounds and six assists. Pettway fueled Western New England's second half surge with 20 points over the final 20 minutes of action
• Freshman forward Nana Appiah (Patterson, Calif.) made 3-of-4 three-pointers and 5-of-10 field goals overall on his way to 15 points while also matching his season-high with nine rebounds.
• Freshman Mike McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) and senior Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) rounded out Western New England's double figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. 

• Roger Williams sophomore guard Austin Coene (Tynsborough, Mass.) turned in an impressive shooting performance, connecting on 16-of-21 field goals, 3-of-4 three-point attempts, and 3-of-5 free throws en route to a game-high 38 points. Coene also recorded 11 rebounds and two steals.
• Junior forward Jaylen Jennings (Norwalk, Conn.) finished with 17 points and three rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.
• Junior guard Nick Marini (Loudonville, N.Y.) was 6-of-6 from the field on his way to a 15-point performance. 

Game Review
• A made layup by Coene fueled an early 5-0 Roger Williams run, as the Hawks forged a 10-5 lead 2:30 into the contest. The Golden Bears closed the gap to three (15-12) after a layup by McCourt at the 15:02 mark, but the Hawks answered with a 9-0 run for the next four minutes to extend their advantage to 12 (24-12) with 12:32 on the clock.
• Roger Williams continued to add to its lead, which eventually reached 26 (53-27) after sophomore guard Jake Heaton (Shelton, Conn.) connected from beyond the arc late in the half. McCourt and freshman guard Nick DeGennaro (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) closed out the frame with baskets for Western New England as the Golden Bears trailed 53-31 at the break.   
• Gelineau had six of Western New England's first 11 points of the second half, but the Golden Bears still faced a 65-44 deficit at the 15:31 mark.
• Pettway took control from there, scoring 14 of the team's 25 points over the next seven minutes, including a three-pointer that brought Western New England's deficit back into single digits (76-67) with 8:46 on the clock.
• Coene answered with a trey on Roger Williams' next possession, however, and scored 15 of his 38 points down the stretch to help the Hawks pull away and seal the win. 

Notes
• Western New England, which shot just 27.3% from the field in the first half, connected at a 48.6% clip over the final 20 minutes, when the Golden Bears outscored the Hawks 51-48.
• Roger Williams shot 61.3% from the field and 47.6% from beyond the arc.
• Graduate guard Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Up Next
Western New England (6-18, 4-13 CCC) travels to Endicott on Saturday for its regular season finale, while Roger Williams (19-5, 13-4 CCC) returns home to take on Wentworth.