BRISTOL, R.I. – Suffolk University used a late first half run to power past Lesley University 83-64 in the final day of the Roger Williams Courtyard by Marriot Men's Basketball Tournament. With the win, the Rams open up their 2014 campaign at 1-1 while the Lynx fall to 0-2.
Fitchburg State outlasted host Roger Williams in the tournament championship matchup as they Falcons cruised to a 69-44 victory to improve to 2-0 on the year. The Hawks fall to 1-1 in the loss.
Sophomore Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) paced the Lynx offense with a career-high 18 points while pulling down five rebounds. Senior Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) ended up in double-figures for the second straight game with 17 points and added a team-high three assists while leading all players with three steals. Junior Corbin Polec (Okemos, Mich.) came off the bench and knocked down three triples on his way to a career-best 15 points. Sophomore Mike Slaby (Foxboro, Mass.) scored three points and grabbed five offensive rebounds in reserve duty.
Senior Sam Nwadike (Houston, Texas) led the Rams as he finished with a game-high 26 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Junior Caleb Unni (Winchester, Mass.) posted a double-double with ten points and ten boards while classmate Jake Meister (Madison, N.J.) chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds. Fellow junior Curtis Casella (Saugus, Mass.) went 5-of-9 from three-point range to finish with 19 points.
The opening half was tight as there were seven lead changes in the first fifteen minutes of play. A Polec trey gave the Lynx a 10-9 advantage with 14:16 to go in the half. The Rams answered with a 9-4 run backed by three triples as they regained an 18-14 lead and would not trail again in the game.
Suffolk would extend their lead to double-digits before the Lynx clawed their way to within seven following a 12-4 streak over the next 2:45. Polec powered the run with seven of his 15 points.
Once again the Rams had an answer for Lesley's spurt and did not allow a Lynx field goal in the final five minutes of the of the first as they closed out the half on a 15-2 to open up a 48-28 lead at the break. Nwadike was nearly unstoppable during the run as he scored 11 points, going a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-4 at the free throw line.
The Lynx held a slight 12-10 edge on the offensive glass while the Rams held a 40-33 advantage in total rebounds. Suffolk knocked down 11 three's while shooting 48-percent from downtown and 47-percent for the game. The Lynx struggled from the field, shooting 34-percent on the day.
Lesley will open their home schedule on Tuesday, November 25th when they host Endicott College in a non-conference matchup at 8:00p at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols.