Danbury, Conn.—Junior forward Mason Choice (Newport, RI) fell one assist shy of a triple double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and four steals as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team edged first place Western Connecticut, 86-75, in a Little East Conference contest played at Feldman Arena.
 
With the win, the Anchormen (14-7, 8-3 LEC) pull within one game of the first place Colonials (19-3, 9-2 LEC) with three league games left to play in the regular season.
 
The visitors were led by five players in double figures with junior center Mike Akinrola (Woonsocket, RI) and senior guard Antone Gray (Providence, RI) netting a team-high 17 points each. Senior guard Nick Mason (Newport, RI) and classmate forward Carl Lee (Warwick, RI) added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
 
WestConn was led by junior guard DaQuan Brooks (Atlanta, GA) who had 19 points, but struggled from the field, connecting on just five of 17 attempts on the night. The Colonials as a team shot just 39 percent from the field, missing 40 of 65 tries.
 
Three other Colonials reached double figures with RIC transfer Rob Bentil (East Hartford, CT) scoring 11 points against his old mates and Mark Redding (Waterbury, CT) and Jengodji Gates (New Haven, CT) contributing 10 points apiece.
 
The Anchormen led for all but 16 seconds of the contest. With 14:47 remaining in the first half, junior forward Gary Robinson (Torrington, CT) buried a three-pointer to give WestConn a 10-8 lead. Lee answered with a three-pointer for RIC to give it the lead it would never relinquish, 11-10.
 
RIC's biggest advantage, 19 points, 82-63, came with 2:59 left in the game when Lee converted a lay-in bucket.
 
WestConn gave one last push down the stretch and cut its deficit to eight points, 83-75. During the run, Gates canned two long three point baskets and LEC Rookie of the Week Russell Payton (Stratford, CT) scored on a short jumper.
 
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference play at home against Southern Maine on Saturday, Feb. 12.