Golden Bears Win Battle for First Place, Drop Hawks in OT

BRISTOL, R.I. (January 10, 2023) – The Western New England men's basketball team needed overtime to get by the Hawks of Roger Williams University on Tuesday night. Sophomore Jake Harrison grabbed 18 points and 20 rebounds while three others sat in double figures in scoring to help the Golden Bears defeat RWU 89-86. 

Records:

• Western New England: 11-2, 7-0 CCC
• Roger Williams University: 9-5, 6-1 CCC

How it Happened:
Western New England opened the game with the first bucket when Jake Harrison nailed a jump shot on the Golden Bears first possession of the game. The Hawks of Roger Williams would stripe it from distance all night long, though WNE would hold steady. WNE would go up three points thanks to a Gavin Greene layup just three minutes into the contest. Roger Williams would keep the game close after Ty Higgins would connect on a three-point shot to even the game at eight. Max Manjos nailed a three for RWU to give the Hawks their first lead of the game at 11-10. Higgins would nail another three to give the Hawks a seven-point lead, their largest of the quarter. Western New England would need to battle back early to get back into the contest. Tim Restall and Brian Geitner would begin to mount the comeback for the Golden Bears.

Geitner would connect from distance to erase the seven-point deficit and tie the game at 24 which would then be followed up with a made jumper by Harrison which gave WNE their lead back. The lead would go back and forth between the two undefeated schools in the conference. Geitner would help Western New England stay within striking distance in the opening half as Roger Williams would take a one-point lead into halftime after Nate Kasper would scoop and score the final bucket of the half. Brian Geitner would shoot 5-6 from the field including 3-3 from deep, grabbing 14 opening half points to lead WNE. 

Like the first half, the second half would be a back and forth battle all the way down to the final horn. Western New England couldn't grab their first lead of the half until the 12-minute mark when Cody Palazzesi connected on the three-point play to put WNE ahead 57-56. Nate Kasper extended Western New England's lead though the hot three-point shooting of Roger Williams would not allow the Golden Bears to build a lead. Mac Annus and Max Manjos would shoot from three on back-to-back possessions to give RWU a four-point lead. With eight minutes remaining, Nate Kasper would be back on the scoreboard with an and-one to get WNE a three-point lead. WNE would lead by as many as four points in the quarter though neither team could register a point in the final 1:26 of the half tied at 78 which would send the game into overtime, the first of the season for Western New England. 

In the OT period Tim Restall would open the scoring for WNE with a made layup on an assist from Jake Harrison. WNE took a six-point lead with 2:12 remaining in the OT session though Roger Williams would not go away quietly as made free throws would keep the Hawks in the contest. With 36 seconds to play Gavin Greene would connect on a layup to give WNE an 88-84 lead, a lead Western New England would hold onto for the remainder of the game as the Golden Bears would finish off Roger Williams, beating the Hawks 89-86 to secure first place in the CCC. 

Inside the Lines:

• Jake Harrison collected 18 points in the game while ripping down 20 rebounds and dishing four assists. 
• Tim Restall made ten field goals on the night, scoring 22 points while securing eight rebounds. 
• Brian Geitner scored 14 first half points, finishing with 15 total points on the night. 
• Gavin Greene nailed seven field goals on his way to a 17-point effort while also grabbing six rebounds and three assists. 
• WNE shot 50% from the field while holding their opponents to just 43.3%. Mac Annus led RWU with 26 points. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE hosts Curry College on Saturday, January 15 at 3:00 pm. 
• RWU travels to Endicott on the same date.