BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team began the 2011 Courtyard by Marriott Tip-Off Tournament Saturday afternoon with a 52-44 win over Fisher College. The Hawks move on to face Babson College, who defeated Connecticut College 61-51, in the championship game.

The Hawks were paced by Pat Flanagan (Somerville, Mass.), who led all scorers with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds. Mike Engemann (Red Bank, N.J.) added nine points and three boards, while freshman Adam Cook (Manasquan, N.J.) added seven points off the bench.

For Fisher, Dennis Norford (New Haven, Conn.) just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Zack Pope (Orlando, Fla.) added nine points and seven boards, while Zachary Campbell (Cape Coral, Fla.) added nine points, five rebounds, and two steals.

Defense played a key role in the game for both teams in the first half, as the Hawks shot only 25 percent (7-of-28) in the period, while Fisher hit at a 32.1 percent clip (9-of-28). The Hawks held a slim 23-19 lead going into the second half and managed to hold on to its lead throughout the second period.

In the second half, Fisher continued to remain within striking range, never trailing by more than eight points in the period. A jumper by Norford at the 14:50 mark pulled Fisher to within three (25-28), but would not come any closer. RWU's lead hovered between four and eight over the remainder of the game, with a slam dunk in the closing seconds by Flanagan securing the win for RWU.

In the second game of the day, Babson staved off a last-minute effort by Connecticut College at the end of the game to come away with the 61-51 win. Marcus McDermott (Ridgefield, Conn.) finished with a game-high 20 points along with nine rebounds and three assists. Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added eight points and nine rebounds, while Matt Florio (Princeton, N.J.) chipped in with ten points.

Matt Vadas (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) finished with 16 points and six rebounds for Connecticut College to lead the team. Rob Harrigan (Milford, Conn.) added 12 points and four boards. John Bullitt (Quincy, Mass.) had eight points and three steals.

Babson began the game on a 7-0 run before the Camels scored six straight to pull within one. That would be as close as Connecticut College would get as the Beavers lead wire-to-wire over the course of the half. The Beavers shot 48 percent (12-of-25) in the first half, while the Camels were only 7-of-22 (31.8%) in the period.

The Camels took their first lead of the game in the second half on a pair of free throws by Vadas to go up 32-30 with 14:37 to play. Connecticut held the lead for a six-minute stretch until a three-pointer by McDermott put Babson back on top 44-42 with 8:42 left. From there, an 11-3 Beaver run put Babson on top with just over a minute to play. A couple of Camel three-pointers pulled Connecticut to within six, but the Beavers hit all six of their free throws in the final minute to secure the win.

Roger Williams will face Babson in the championship game Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., with Connecticut College and Fisher playing in the consolation game prior at 1:00 p.m.

Article courtesy of Nick Williams and Roger Williams University