Photo courtesy of Erin Edgerton, The Commonwealth Times
The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team sailed past Virginia Commonwealth University 81-68 this past Saturday, extending their winning streak to 14 games and advancing to 11-0 in Atlantic 10 conference play.
URI would display their dominance early-on, as Andre Berry would score the first points of the game. The two teams would then go back and forth offensively for the next 13 minutes, playing a very evenly matched game of basketball. URI began to break away with five minutes left in the half, as the team went on a nine point break away run. Stanford Robinson, Nicola Akele and Jared Terrell each contributed, connecting shot after shot with the net.
VCU was not dismayed by the stream of success, as they responded with back-to-back three-point shots, making the game 36-33 with just a few minutes left in the half. Each team would score twice more before heading into the locker rooms for the half. URI lead VCU 41-38 at the break.
URI would hold its lead for the entirety of the second half, gradually pulling farther and farther away from VCU, leading by a margin as large as 13 points. Play between the two teams was matched for a majority of the half, but a hard charge into Daron “Fatts” Russell by Jonathan Williams would spark the URI Rams road to victory. Less than a minute after being fouled, Russell would connect with the net for a three-point basket, followed by numerous points from E.C. Matthews and Terrell. Jeff Dowtin’s jump-shot with 2:01 left would push VCU into a period of frenzy, as they would continue to commit foul after foul on URI players until the end of the game, allowing URI to walk away from Richmond with a win.
Matthews, Terrell and Cyril Langevine would prove themselves as the most successful players this past weekend. Langevine recorded a career high of 18 rebounds for the night, accounting for 40 percent of the team’s total rebounds. Langevine also achieved his second double-double of the season, finishing the game with 12 points and making him the third leading-scorer. Matthews finished the game with 18 points and five rebounds on the night, shooting 40 percent from the three-point line. Terrell finished with 16 points and three assists, also shooting 40 percent from the three-point line.
The Rams will face Davidson and Richmond this upcoming week. There are seven conference games left to play for URI before heading into the Atlantic 10 tournament on March 7 in Washington D.C.