The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team struggled to keep up with two of the top teams in their conference at home this week, suffering losses to Loyola University Chicago and the University of Richmond.
After a week of preparation, the Rams were able to jump out to a lead early Sunday afternoon against Loyola Chicago. Aided by a 7-0 run, URI led 16-9 with 12 minutes left in the first half. First-year forward David Fuchs made his presence known early, scoring eight points in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Following this start, however, is when Loyola Chicago really started to show their physicality that would end up being the main theme of this game. Fifth-year forward Dame Adelekun came in off the bench for the Ramblers and made an immediate impact. He converted on his first seven shots of the day and was a big part of an 11-2 run that gave Loyola Chicago their first lead of the day at 21-18 with eight minutes left in the half.
Along with Adelekun racking up points in the paint, the Ramblers brought in five offensive rebounds in the first 14 minutes of the game, a sign of things to come. For the game, they ended up with 11 offensive rebounds compared to just five for the Rams.
“You just didn’t see guys ferocious and going after it,” URI Head Coach Archie Miller said postgame. “There were some possessions in the first half where you actually saw Loyola jump four or five times before one player on our team actually left the floor.”
Shooting struggles also plagued Rhode Island at the end of the first half, missing their final five field goal attempts and being held scoreless for 3:11. Despite this, they were still hanging around after the opening 20 minutes, trailing 35-29.
There were only four combined free throw attempts in the first half (all being taken by Loyola Chicago), but the second half turned out to be the complete opposite. Both sides traded free throw attempts throughout the half, but the major difference was the conversion. Loyola Chicago made 12 of their 13 second half attempts, while URI was only able to convert 13 of 22.
After trailing by double digits early in the half, the Rams trimmed the lead down to 51-47 with 12 minutes left, helped by a three point play by third-year guard Brandon Weston, however the Loyola lead would grow from there.
In the end, it was a 77-67 win for Loyola Chicago in a game that was defined by their 43-28 advantage on the boards and shooting 88% from the free throw line. Adelekun and fourth-year forward Phillip Alston each had 21 points for the Ramblers, while Weston led the way for the Rams with 15 points and fourth-year guard Jaden House added 14.
“The overall body language of our team, the pop, the confidence that you give one another throughout the course of a game I thought just slowly deteriorated in this one,” Miller said. “For whatever reason, we get disappointed in certain moments of games and it really hurts us.”
There was no let up in the schedule for Rhode Island following the loss, as Richmond, who were sitting at 10-2 in conference play, came to the Ryan Center.
“Wednesday night will be a real gut check for us in terms of our effort level,” Miller said. “It has to really flip.”
Throughout the opening eight minutes against Richmond, this message from Miller was getting across to the Rams, specifically when it came to their effort on the offensive glass. They took an early lead thanks to six offensive rebounds and nine of their first 17 points being second chance points.
A 13-2 run stretched the lead all the way to 25-16 for the Rams with eight minutes left in the half. Fuchs was the leading factor in helping Rhode Island maintain their lead with a career-high 17 points and four rebounds in the opening half.
Fourth-year guard Dji Bailey led a late charge in the half for the Spiders with 11 points cutting their deficit to just 42-40. Richmond shot the ball well in the first half, shooting 59% compared to the Rams who were 46% from the field. However, the 20-13 rebounding advantage for Rhode Island had them holding on to the slim lead.
Once the Rams fell behind, the second half on Wednesday became a very similar story to the one on Sunday as they struggled to build momentum and close the gap. They got a glimmer of hope after free throws from fourth-year guard Luis Kortright cut the lead down to five with 1:30 left, but they wouldn’t get closer than that.
Richmond ended up getting the win by a score of 85-77 led by 25 points from fifth-year guard Jordan King, 20 of those coming in the second half. Fuchs ended with 23 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Rams. The loss dropped Rhode Island to 11-15 and 5-8 in conference play on the year.
Looking ahead, the Rams will begin a two-game road trip on Sunday at noon, when they take on La Salle University. The game will be televised on the USA Network.