The bright lights of the Barclays Center shined down on the University of Rhode Island and Saint Louis University men’s basketball programs as they faced off in the first round of the 2024 Atlantic 10 championship on Tuesday.
Saint Louis defeated Rhode Island by a score of 74-71 in Brooklyn, New York, marking the end of the Rams’ 2023-24 season.
“The season was a disappointment,” URI Head Coach Archie Miller said postgame. “Whether the record speaks to any improvement, [the season] was a disappointment.”
The first-round battle with SLU went similarly to the matchup these two teams had at the Ryan Center on March 2. Billikens fourth-year guard Gibson Jimerson scored 30 points in the win over Rhode Island earlier this month, and added 26 in the championship setting.
Saint Louis and their fourth-ranked offense in the conference got the Billikens up to a 24-12 lead with 8:50 to play in the first half. SLU carried this momentum throughout the half, as fourth-year guard Terrence Hargrove Jr. knocked down back-to-back three pointers to close out the half. The two triples pushed Hargrove’s first half point total to 12, and gave the Billikens a 41-32 lead at the break.
“In the first half we were poorly executing offensively versus the zone,” Miller said. “[Saint Louis] went zone two-thirds of the first half and we were slow into things, very little ball movement, struggled to get quality looks [and] missed free throws.”
The Rams, in the midst of a 17-2 run to start the second half, fought back to take the lead 47-45 with less than 14 minutes to play.
“I thought the second half we came out of the gates [strong], played very, very hard,” Miller said. “Defensively we were disruptive, and the complexion of the game completely changed.”
Rams fourth-year guard Jaden House sparked the run with 11 second-half points. House had struggled with efficiency over the previous two games, shooting a combined 3-13 from the field. Against the Billikens however, House shot 8-12 from the field and knocked down his first triple in three games.
“I think I [had] just seen the lanes open up a little bit,” House said. “When they went [into] zone, I kind of just tried to attack the lanes and make plays from there.”
The run lasted over five minutes, which led to the Rams having a lead as much as four, 54-52. Saint Louis continued to hang around and eventually broke through with an 8-0 run to take the lead back. With 1:20 to play, the Billikens had forced an eighth lead change, putting them back in front 69-67. This would be the final time the teams would change leads, as Rhode Island missed two three-point attempts at the buzzer.
Saint Louis held on to take a 74-71 victory and will face off against Duquesne University in the second round. The two teams square off on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and the game is available to be viewed on USA Network.
Rhode Island’s season ended in disappointment for their fans and players, according to Miller, with the team knocked out in the first round of the A-10 tournament in back-to-back seasons. Miller is now 21-43 through two seasons at the helm but will retain the core of this season’s team.
“We have to get a group to believe in what we do,” Miller said. “We have to work really hard to establish that group.”
With the 2023-24 season officially over, Miller and his team will now look to do just that as they turn to a busy offseason in preparation for November.