Men’s Basketball’s Comeback Falls Short at JWU, 67-63

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Suffolk men's basketball overcame an 18-point deficit, but it would not be enough as Johnson & Wales hung on for a 67-63 victory of the Rams Wednesday night at the Wildcat Center.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 63 | Johnson & Wales 67
RECORDS: Suffolk (9-9, 1-3 GNAC) | Johnson & Wales (10-9, 2-3 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk was held scoreless in the first 4:45 of play, which allowed Johnson & Wales to build an 11-0 edge. Cameron Powers added a spark to the Rams off the bench as the senior swished a pair of treys to close the gap to seven, 15-8, at the 12:45 minute mark.  

Powers' classmate and co-captain George Grillakis put in a pair of freebies to make it a two-possession game, 15-10, 1:20 later. The Wildcats had other things in mind though and regained an 11-point advantage behind an 8-2 run at the midway point of the opening half.  

Suffolk saw another glimpse of hope when Max Bonney-Liles connected on back-to-back threes before William Rowe put in a layup to cut the distance to three, 25-22, with 5:15 to go before the break. Over the final five minutes the Wildcats outscored the Rams, 11-3, to take a 36-26 lead into the locker room. 

JWU extended its lead to 48-30 5:30 into the second stanza. Suffolk's comeback came behind a two 10-0 stretches that pulled the margin to two, 54-52, with 5:52 left on the clock.  

More excitement ensued as Bonney-Liles gave the Rams their first lead of the game, 59-58, when the sophomore sunk a three-pointer with 2:37 remaining.  

The sophomore would then answer Nate Patenaude's layup with a basket of his own to knot the game at 63-63 with just over one-minute remaining.  

With the shot clock winding down Justin Bullock hit a runner in the lane to put JWU up two. He'd go on to knock down a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to seal the victory for the Wildcats.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Bonney-Liles notched a team-high 20 points on an 8-for-13 showing from the floor, which included a 4-for-8 effort from downtown. He added two boards, one assist and one block as swell. 
• Duffy supplied 15 points, going 6-for-16 from the field to go along with five dimes, five boards and two takeaways. 
• Rowe recorded 14 rebounds, eight points and two helpers. 
• Powers provided eight points, five rebounds and two steals in a reserve effort. 
• Suffolk shot 44.1 percent (26-59) from the floor, 35.3 percent (6-17) from beyond-the-arc and did not miss one of its five freebies. 
• The Wildcats outrebounded the Rams, 41-39.   

NOTEWORTHY

• Rowe grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. 
• Powers pulled down a personal-best five caroms.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

LOOKING AHEAD
Suffolk is back to hosting responsibilities Saturday, Feb. 1 when it entertains No. 19 Albertus Magnus at Tufts' Cousens Gym at 7 p.m.