No. 15 nationally ranked Providence College head coach Ed Cooley claimed that this matchup was not a two-sided rivalry prior to Saturday night’s ocean state showdown.
Following Saturday’s 74-72 loss to Providence College, Rhode Island is now 3-4 when hosting their in state competitor at the Ryan Center.
Saturday’s matchup brought out 7,678 fans to witness the “non-rivalry” between the two talented teams each with high energy coaching staffs.
Providence College  does lead the overall series, 71-54, however recent matchups between the two programs have come down to the final possession.
Free throw shooting was a difference maker for the Friars who shot 12-13 at 92.3% compared to the Rams, who shot 9-13 from the stripe at 69.2%
Kris Dunn of Providence College, known for being one of the best point guards in the country, stuffed the stat sheet against Rhode Island with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Providence forward Ben Bentil took over the paint in this one. Not only did Bentil score the game winning basket, but led all scorers with 23 points while going a perfect 5-5 from the free throw stripe.
Rhode Island gave up a total of 46 of Providence’s 74 points in the paint on Saturday night, making up for more than half of their scoring output.
Rhode Island sophomore guard Jarvis Garrett finished Saturday night’s matchup with a career high 17 points, and rebounds with seven.
Fellow backcourt sophomore counterpart Jared Terrell shined bright for Rhode Island, leading the team with 19 points, two steals, three assists and the game-tying basket that nearly sent the game into overtime.
Freshman Christion Thompson raised some eyebrows with his performance especially from deep leading all Rams with three triples from beyond the arc, totaling 10 points, three rebounds and one assist.
