Rams lose nine out of last 10 games
Ishmael El-Amin and the Rams were unable to best George Washington and St. Bonaventure.PHOTO CREDIT: www.yardbarker.com
The University of Rhode Island Men’s Basketball team continued their Atlantic 10 struggles this past week, dropping road games at George Washington University and St. Bonaventure University.
The first of the two matchups took place in the nation’s capital when the Rams faced the George Washington Colonials. The two teams last met on Jan. 22 when the Colonials handed the Rams their first home loss of the season, winning a 63-61 nailbiter. This time, it was more of the same.
The first half was tight for the most part, with the two teams trading baskets until the nine minute mark when the Colonials got two big threes from guard Joe Bamisile to build an 18-6 run and go into the halftime break up 44-30.
The second half was a lot closer, with the Rhody defense tightening up thanks to some big blocks from center Makhel Mitchell and guard Jalen Carey and great on-ball defense from Malik Martin. However, the lead the Colonials built in the first half was too great for the Rams to overcome and they fell 74-61.
The Mitchell twins were the stars in this one, with Makhi logging a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Makhel scoring 15 to go along with eight rebounds and a block. The loss put the Rams at 13-12 going into their matchup against St. Bonaventure. Rhode Island Men’s Basketball coach David Cox was pleased with the effort shown by his squad, but was disappointed with their first-half showing.
“I thought our defense was off in the first half,” Cox said. “We got beat off the bounce too many times and we missed some free throws that would have kept it in striking distance.”
The Rams then traveled to upstate New York to take on the Bonnies, a team that came into the season with a Top 25 ranking and were the unanimous favorites to win the Atlantic 10.
The Rams hung in there to start the game with big buckets from the Mitchells and Martin as well as forward Antwan Walker. It was 25-22 Bonnies with four minutes left in the half, but buckets from St. Bonaventure’s Jalen Adaway extended the Bonnie lead to 35-27 heading into the break.
The Bonnies extended that lead thanks to two baskets from guards Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes. A four-point deficit quickly turned into a 15-point hole that, once again, was too big to dig out of. Rhody battled the rest of the way, trading baskets with the Bonnies, but the Rams would ultimately fall 73-55.
This loss put the Rams at an even 13-13 for the season and 4-10 in conference play. Mahki Mitchell nearly missed a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds. His twin, Mahkel, scored 13 points and added seven rebounds. The Rhody bench performed well with Martin scoring nine and Carey and Walker each scoring seven points.
Cox was happy with the way his bigs battled down low, but thought the difference in guard play was what separated the two teams.
“I thought our bigs battled down low and I thought we had a great game plan,” Cox said. “Unfortunately, we got some good looks, but just couldn’t hit shots and the guards got some easy buckets for them. We have to get in the gym and work on that.”
The Rams next take on Duquesne University at the Ryan Center this Saturday for Senior Day. Guards Jeremy Sheppard and Ishmael El-Amin will be honored pregame for their achievements as student-athletes. Tip-off is at 12:30 p.m. and the game can be seen on the USA Network.