The Hawks tipped off the start of their season without five of their players from the previous season’s roster; including their leading scorer from last season, Guard, Mac Annus. The Hawks lost in the semi-finals last season to Western New England, dropping that game 65-97.
“We have to have some of our returners who played some last year and maybe not at all last year, step up a little bit. Play a little bit more or play a significant role for the first time,” said Head Coach Mike Tully.
This season’s captains for the Hawks are Finn Miller, Kyle Monahan, Ty Higgins, and Phillip Sughrue. Of the 17 rostered players, four are freshmen who will see some playing time early.
“It’s a different team. It’s a younger team. It’s a lot less experience as far as minutes are logged. But the goal is to be our best at the end of the year,” said Tully. “I think they are settling in and learning the system. I think they’re all doing their part.”
At the end of last season, the Hawks shot around 41 percent from behind the arc, according to the RWU athletics website. In their opening game against Clark this past Saturday, they shot 20 percent from three.
“This team is going to have to find their way a little bit in terms of how we put the ball in the basket and who’s doing it,” said Tully. “I do think that because there is not a dominant scorer per se, that it’ll potentially allow us to score in different ways and be efficient.”
The Hawks fell short to Clark in their season opener 74-67. Miller led the way with 20pts, three rebounds, and two assists while shooting 50 percent from the field. As a team, the Hawks shot 37 percent (23-of-61) and were outrebounded 55-27.
“We don’t have a lot of height, but we have to be a more physical team defensively and a more aggressive team,” said Tully. “How we defend, how physical we play. How aggressive, how quickly we can get to the ball defensively. Offensively certainly, are we getting good shots? Are we taking good shots?”
The Hawks will be hosting Emmanuel at 3:30pm this Saturday; followed by their first CNE (Conference of New England) home game against Curry on Wed. Nov. 19th at 7:30pm.
