Men’s Hoops Rattles Off 69-55 Win at Roger Williams

BRISTOL, R.I.- The Eastern Nazarene men's basketball team secured its fourth-straight victory Tuesday evening, defeating Roger Williams 69-55 on the road.

The Lions escalate to 14-4 on the year and 8-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Hawks flutter to 6-14 overall and 5-8 in league action with the loss.

Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) scored a team-best 19 points on the night while adding five rebounds. Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) finished with 12 points, five boards and three assists. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) netted 10 points and hauled in five rebounds in the win. Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) registered six points and a season-high 10 helpers while Brian Hard (Weymouth, Mass.) contributed with eight points off the bench.

The two squads traded buckets in the opening 7:38, resulting in the Lions holding an 11-10 edge.

Eastern Nazarene established a seven-point lead with 5:36 remaining in the half as Eric Lynch completed a three-point play at the charity stripe, 22-15.

The Lions widened the margin to 11 with less than a minute left to play, 36-25. Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) tossed in a reverse-layup after Hard drained his seven trey of the contest.

Roger Williams cut the deficit to 36-27 just before the intermission break as Chris Bardwell sank his first basket of the game with three seconds to go.

Eric Lynch poured in nine first-half points while adding three boards. Hard registered eight points and a pair of rebounds in the opening 20 minutes while Gomes chipped in with six points and three boards. Owens notched six assists in the first frame and tallied two points.

The visitors shot 44.1% from the field in the first period and 33.3% from behind the arc. The Hawks connected on 36% of their field-goal attempts in the opening half, including 2-of-9 from three-point distance.

Roger Williams pulled to within one with 10 minutes left to play as Jake LePrevost sank back-to-back buckets and Joseph Henry banked in a layup, 45-44.

Eastern Nazarene responded with two baskets by Jarman on the ensuing possessions to push the score to 49-44 with 8:48 remaining.

The Lions reclaimed an 11-point advantage with 6:23 on the clock as Eric Lynch netted three straight lay-ins, 57-46.

The visitors' final eight points were tallied at the charity stripe in the last 1:35 of play.

The Lions wrapped up the contest with a field-goal percentage of 45.8% to go with 23.5% shooting from long range. The Hawks connected on 36.2% of their shot attempts in the contest while being limited to 4-of-22 shooting from behind the arc.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene visits league-leading Nichols February 6.