Men’s Basketball Rolls Past Roger Williams, 73-60

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team posted a 73-60 victory over Roger Williams Wednesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions improve to 16-6 on the season and 10-5 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the win. The Hawks fall to 9-13 overall and 7-8 in league action with the loss.

Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) paced the home side with 15 points and added two assists. Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) each finished with 14 points on the night. Anthony Petrilli (Woodland Hills, Calif.) netted nine points while Lequan Gomes (Fairfield, Calif.) contributed with eight points and seven boards.

The guests built up a 9-4 edge 5:24 into the contest before the hosts battled back to tie the score at 14-14 on a trey by Owens with 10:52 remaining.

Eastern Nazarene grabbed its first lead of the game with 10:08 to go as Micah Simmons-Smalls (Kingston, N.Y.) tossed in a jumper, 16-14.

The Lions widened the gap to six with 8:05 on the clock on another triple from Owens, 26-20.

The home team closed out the first half on a 6-1 run to cling to a 32-26 advantage at the break.

Eastern Nazarene owned a field-goal percentage of 44.4% at halftime while draining 50% of its attempts from three-point territory. Roger Williams shot 45.5% in the opening frame and 30% from behind the arc.

Eric Lynch paced the Lions with 10 first-half points while Owens tallied eight points.

A 14-0 stretch caused the hosts' margin to swell to 16 points with 11:47 left to play. Justin Wagner capped off the run with a three-pointer from the left corner, 49-33.

 The Hawks pulled to within seven, 65-58, on a put-back layup by Nick Marini with 11:17 remaining.

Eastern Nazarene responded with four consecutive points to take a 69-58 lead as Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) converted two free throws and Eric Lynch ushered in a fast-break layup with less than a minute to go.

Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Justin Wagner both sank a pair of foul shots down the stretch to secure the victory.

The Lions shot 47.3% from the floor on the evening and 47.1% from the perimeter. The Hawks finished with a field-goal percentage of 42.3% to go with 4-for-20 shooting from beyond the arc.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene ventures to Springfield, Massachusetts to take on Western New England February 13.