Flushing, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan College men's basketball team used hot shooting to earn a berth in the East Coast Conference Tournament semifinals.
The fifth-seeded Redhawks made 33 of 59 (55.9%) of their shots from the field and pulled away from fourth-seeded Queens College to earn a 90-72 victory on Wednesday night.
"We came in confident and with high energy," said head coach Mark Saladzius. "We knew what we needed to do. Last game with Queens we built a lead in the first half and let it slip away. Today we shot the ball well and were able to hold that lead."
Sophomore Ja'Kair Sanchez made 9 of his 13 field-goal attempts and led Roberts (12-12) with 25 points. The Redhawks will play at top-seeded Saint Thomas Aquinas College (24-4) at noon on Saturday.
Rian Carter added 16 points and Kevon Wright scored 14 points for Roberts, which led 42-32 at the half.
Queens took an early 4-0 lead, but Roberts took a 5-4 advantage on a layup by Carter with 16:35 remaining in the first half and never trailed again.
Amari Lee contributed 12 points, Abou Gbane registered 10 and Maurice McKinney added eight for Roberts. Six of the seven players who scored for Roberts shot 50% or better from the field.
"We know the type of team we are and how we have to play," Saladzius said. "We have the spread the ball around and be confident in different players being able to hit the open shot. It's important for each guy to play their role."
Roberts and Queens were playing for the third time in two weeks. The Redhawks defeated the Knights 90-84 at the Voller Athletic Center on Feb. 16 but dropped a 90-73 decision at Queens on Feb. 22.
Release provided by the Roberts Wesleyan Sports Information Department.
