ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan University men's basketball team gave itself plenty of reasons to celebrate on Saturday.
Demani Smith's basket 13 seconds into the game gave Roberts a lead it never relinquished and six Redhawks scored in double figures during a 95-81 victory over Queens College at the Voller Athletic Center.
Roberts honored its five graduating players – Rian Carter, Ben Lekeuneu, Nicholas Johnson, Smith and Christopher Adams Jr. – before the game and relished clinching a berth in the ECC Tournament after.
"It was a great win," said guard Abou Gbane, who scored 12 points. "It was a great way for all of those seniors to go out and most of all it clinched a playoff spot."
"It's huge," Roberts coach Mark Saladzius said of the Senior Day victory. "Those guys put in the blood, sweat and tears and those guys are here day in and day out. The primary reason they are here is to earn a degree and all five of those guys are on track to graduate in May."
Carter led the way for the Redhawks (9-13, 7-7 ECC) with 24 points, Malik Brooks added 19, Ja'Kair Sanchez netted 13, Johnson registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Smith added 10. Sanchez also pulled down 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and made 3 steals.
The game had special meaning for Carter, who wore pink Nikes as a tribute to his late mother Chira, who passed away from cancer.
"It was emotional, especially in the pregame," Carter said. "I nearly shed a tear or two knowing that she would have wanted to be here. Then I just went out there and played."
And played well.
Carter scored 14 points in the first half as the Redhawks took a 43-40 lead into the halftime break.
"I give full credit to my guys for finding me and telling me to stay positive," Carter said.
The Redhawks scored the first seven points of the game and led by as many as 12 points in the first half. Saladzius said his halftime chat centered on executing the basics.
"We just re-emphasized the things that we talked about in practice," Saladzius said. "We wanted to move the ball, share it, have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio and compete for rebounds."
Queens cut its deficit to a single point on two occasions before Roberts extended its margin to double figures midway through the half. The Knights pulled to within six points with 2:42 remaining.
Roberts regrouped and closed with a 15-7 run as Carter, Gbane and Sanchez all scored four points and Johnson added three.
"We stayed in it," Gbane said. "They had their runs and we had our runs, we just made sure to stay in it."
The win completes a sweep of the season series for the Redhawks, who won 73-67 at Queens on Dec. 9.
 In addition to being Senior Day, Saturday was also Roberts' annual Redhawks Reach-Out Game for Golisano Children's Hospital. All proceeds from the game will benefit Golisano Children's Hospital and the Onnie Wells Fund.
Jacob Noyes, a 24-year-old who spent the first two months of his life in the NICU at Golisano Children's Hospital and has undergone more than 50 surgeries and procedures in his life, served as the Redhawks' honorary captain on Saturday.
Roberts will conclude the regular season with a pair of ECC road games, starting with Thursday's 7:30 p.m. contest at the University of the District of Columbia.