Men’s Basketball Rolls Past Roger Williams, 61-46, in CCC Quarterfinals; Advances to Semifinals Thursday
QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team defeated Roger Williams 61-46 Tuesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center in the quarterfinals of the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament.
The third-seeded Lions improve to 22-4 overall and advance to their second CCC semifinal in three years to take on second-seeded Endicott Thursday, February 26 on the road. The Hawks wrap up the season with a 9-17 overall mark.
All-CCC first team honoree Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) scored a game-high 21 points and dished out four assists. Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished with 13 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists off the bench. Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) notched 10 points while Alex Jarman (Portsmouth, R.I.) added seven points and a team-best eight rebounds.
The opening 10 minutes of the game were closely contested as neither team gained a lead bigger than four points.
Eastern Nazarene claimed its first lead of the game on a triple by Owens 4:10 into the match, 5-4.
The Lions strung together an 8-0 run to widen the gap to nine with 8:17 left to play as Christian Lynch tossed in a fast-break layup, 20-11.
Roger Williams cut the deficit to two with 4:10 on the clock on a jumper by Ryan Palumbo.
The home side established a five-point edge with 2:44 left to play as All-CCC third team selection Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) drilled a pull-up trey, 27-22.
The guests closed out the first period on a 4-0 run as Eastern Nazarene hanged onto a one-point lead at the break, 27-26.
Christian Lynch and Eric Lynch paced the Lions at intermission with six points each while Jarman and Owens each tallied five points.
Eastern Nazarene posted a field-goal percentage of 44% in the opening half to go with 40% shooting from the perimeter. Roger Williams shot 50% from the field and 28.6% from three-point distance in the first frame.
The Hawks leveled the score at 29-29 just 1:30 into the second half as Andrew Wasik knocked down a three-pointer.
The Lions chalked up eight consecutive points to grab a 40-33 lead with 13:26 left to play.
The hosts utilized an 11-0 span to increase their advantage to 14 points, capped off by two free throws by Christian Lynch with 5:47 remaining.
Eastern Nazarene maintained a double-digit margin for the remainder of the game to post its 22nd win of the season and move onto the CCC semifinals.
Eastern Nazarene shot 38.8% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc on the night. Roger Williams finished with a field-goal percentage of 38.8% while connecting on just 3-of-14 from long range in the game.