The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team suffered two losses to Saint Louis University and the University of Dayton, falling to 6-9 in Atlantic 10 Conference play and dropping out of a first-round bye spot.
Rhode Island was not given any breathing room on Saint Louis’ turf, trailing for the entirety of the 81-66 loss on Saturday afternoon. Any momentum URI might have carried into the game off of a two-game winning streak was squandered by a desperate Billikens squad, who were coming in on a three-game skid.
Third-year center Robbie Avila and fourth-year guard Gibson Jimerson set the tone for the Billikens at the start of the contest, as Avila had the Billikens’ first of 11 offensive rebounds, setting up Jimerson for a three-pointer.
Throughout the first half, the Rams could string together no more than four consecutive points, while the Billikenes pulled away with a 10-point lead at 6:19. The Billikens went scoreless in the last 2:49 of the first half, allowing the Rams to chip away at their deficit and get within six points, heading into halftime at 38-32.
Fourth-year forward David Green scored back-to-back layups to get the Rams within one point at 17:05, but the Billikens went on a 7-0 scoring run that put the game at arm’s length once more.
URI’s scoring was led by third-year guard Jamarques Lawrence, who had 19 points and went 5-6 from beyond the arc. Jimmerson had a double-double for SLU, scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds, while only Avila sat above him with a game-high 22 points.
URI headed back home for a tilt with Dayton on Wednesday evening, where a second half offensive collapse and pressure from Dayton’s defense led to an 85-77 loss.
Fourth-year center Javonte Brown opened the scoring for the Rams, beating Flyers’ first-year forward Amael L’Etang in the paint, but L’Etang responded with a three-pointer in the following possession.
After a defensive breakdown from the Flyers, in which they allowed URI fourth-year guard Jaden House to take it to the basket, second-year forward David Fuchs made an immediate impact off the bench, scoring back-to-back dunks.
An 8-0 run, topped off by a steal and finish from fourth-year guard Sebastian Thomas while drawing the foul, put the Rams up 25-15 at 11:21. However, a Rams scoring drought of 7:11 allowed the Flyers to chip away at their deficit, going on a 12-0 scoring run to take a 27-25 lead.
URI went into halftime down 33-30, as its second-ranked conference offense could not find an answer following the scoring drought.
Sparked by Dayton’s leading scorer, fourth-year forward Nate Santos, hitting a three-pointer, the Flyers opened the floodgates in the second half, jumping out to a 17-point lead at 12:48.
The Flyers extended their lead to 20 points, but Rhody cut the deficit back down to 11. When URI got within six points, Santos silenced the Ryan Center crowd with a three-pointer.
After cutting the lead to six with another three-pointer, Thomas fouled out on the following possession, leaving the rest of the Rams 2:31 to make the comeback without him. Unable to do so, the Rams’ energy was deterred, and they fell to the Flyers.
URI finished 2-19 shooting from beyond the arc in the loss. House led the Rams in scoring with 16 points.
“When you play against good teams, you’re gonna have to make some shots,” URI Head Coach Archie Miller said. “They made 10 threes themselves, got to the line, and made every free throw. We turned it over too much and couldn’t make a shot.”
The Rams will head on a two-game road trip, starting with the University of Massachusetts on Saturday at 6 p.m. This game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
