Ishmael Leggett goes up for a layup on Georgia’s State Kane Williams in Saturday’s 94-59 win. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
After a disappointing trip in the state of Florida in mid-November where the Rams only came away with one victory in three games, they returned to their winning ways this past week with victories against Georgia State University and Harvard University.
First up, the Rams took on a short-handed Georgia State team last Saturday afternoon. Due to COVID-19 protocols, Georgia State only had seven scholarship players available for the game.
Playing inspired basketball, the visitors kept the game close to start off, maintaining a 41-35 deficit at the half. But the Rams would step on the gas in the second half and get some help from beyond the arc. Thanks to 10 second-half 3-pointers and stifling defense that kept Georgia State to just 13.6 percent shooting in the second half, the Rams came away with a blowout 94-59 win.
“Coming off that road losing two out of three, we needed that,” Rhode Island Men’s Basketball Coach David Cox said. “We needed that for our general team confidence to be honest with you. We needed some guys to see the basketball go in the hole, and we needed to play that way both defensively and offensively.”
The backcourt duo of Jeremy Sheppard and Ishmael Leggett led the way for the Rams with a combined 41 points. Sophomore Mahki Mitchell also put together a solid performance, recording his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The large margin also gave Cox the opportunity to empty his bench. Ileri Ayo-Faleye, Tres Berry and Parnell Pierre saw extended minutes on Saturday. After the game, Sheppard praised Berry who has been battling different injuries since he arrived on campus last year.
“He’s been putting in a lot of work,” said Sheppard about Berry. “He’s been wanting to get back out here—we want him back out here—so to see him go out there and be aggressive was really amazing to see.”
On Wednesday, the team traveled 90 minutes north to take on Harvard University at the historic Lavietes Pavilion.
Though the two teams battled it out in the early minutes, the Rams would eventually separate themselves late in the first half thanks to a 10-2 run to go up 28-17. That lead grew to 38-22 at the half.
After the break, the Rams picked up where they left off, stretching their lead to as much as 48-27 with 15:07 left in the second half. Harvard climbed back into the game thanks to a 15-0 run to make it 51-47 with just over eight minutes to play.
Fortunately for the Rams, the hosts ran out of gas down the stretch, and they were able to come away with a 64-57 victory.
Up next for the Rams is the game that many in the state of Rhode Island have been waiting nearly two years for: the return of the Providence College and URI rivalry. Cox is confident in his team heading into Saturday’s matchup.
“I think we are at a good place right now as a team,” Cox said. “I think we are a confident group. It’s a big-time game, big-time rivalry, big-time for the state. We missed this game last year. We’ll be at the [Dunkin’ Donuts Center], they’ll have the home crowd and the advantage, but we look forward to the fight.”
Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the game can be seen on the CBS Sports Network.