BRISTOL, R.I. – The Curry College men's basketball team suffered an 87-71 loss to Roger Williams University on Wednesday night at the Campus Recreation Center in its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opener.
The win improved the Hawks to 6-2 on the year and 1-1 in the CCC, while the Colonels drop to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in league action.
Sophomore Eli Harris (Falmouth, Mass.) scored 22 points on an efficient 8-of-9 shooting from the floor, which included four triples. Each of the other four starters joined Harris in double figures. Senior Rich Pugliese (Middlebury, Conn.) chipped in 19 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Freshman EJ Nelson (Essex Junction, Vt.) contributed 14 points and seven boards, four assists, three steals, and a block. Junior JJ Pfohl (Trumbull, Conn.)) pitched in a double-double of 10 points and 11 caroms while classmate Drew Hart (Chesire, Conn.) also added 10 points, three rebounds, seven assists, and a steal.
Senior Daymeann Stewart (Milwaukee, Wis.) poured in a game and season-high 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-10 at the charity stripe. Freshman Luke Townsend (Whitestone, N.Y.) turned in a season-high 10 points with one rebound off the bench.
The Hawks tallied the first six points of the contest, all of which were scored by Harris. The lead ballooned to 10 following a jumper from Hart with 14:38 to go in the opening half to make the score 18-8. Stewart knocked down a three while freshman Michael Ashley (North Atlanta, Ga.) converted a layup with a Harris layup sandwiched in between.
After the score by Ashley to make it a seven-point deficit, Roger Williams would break the game open with a 12-0 run to extend the margin to 19, 32-13.
The Hawks' lead would get as large as 22 in the opening half after a layup by Nelson with 5:49 remaining in the stanza. The Colonels pulled to within as close as 13 before the intermission as Roger Williams entered the break with a 46-31 advantage.
Curry began to chip away at the margin at the start of the second, cutting the differential to just 10 thanks to an 11-0 run to make the score 56-46 with 14:36 left in regulation. This 10-point lead would be as close as the Colonels would get in the stanza as the Hawks ultimately pulled away in the final minutes for the 87-71 final.
Curry shot 47.3 percent from the floor while Roger Williams registered a shooting percentage of 52.3 for the contest. The Hawks held the edge on the boards 36-30 and committed five less turnovers. 44 of Roger Williams' points came in the paint, compared to 32 for the Colonels.
Curry returns home to host league opponent Gordon College on Saturday, December 7 at 3:00 p.m. Roger Williams travels to the Wentworth Institute of Technology for its next tilt on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. tip.
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