The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team was sent home in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament for the third straight season on Wednesday with an 88-71 loss to Fordham University.
Rhody entered the tournament in Washington D.C. as the No. 10 seed after going 7-11 in their conference slate, while Fordham came in at the bottom of the standings as the No. 15 seed. The two teams were very familiar with each other, with URI defeating Fordham 86-67 just four days earlier at the Ryan Center to close out the regular season.
In a juxtaposition from the meeting on Saturday where URI led from start to finish, Fordham took the lead in the first two minutes of Wednesday’s matchup and never gave it up. Fordham built its lead all the way up to 22 at one point in the first half on the two-man show from fourth-year guard Jackie Johnson III and fifth-year guard Japhet Medor, who combined for 28 of the team’s first 30 points.
“[Johnson III and Medor] dominated the game,” URI Head Coach Archie Miller said. “If you really want to break it down, we had no answer, individually or as a team, to be able to contain one of the two or both of the two.”
Medor converted from the free throw line early and often, going 9-9 from the line in the first 11 minutes of the game. Not only was Fordham getting it done at the line, but the team also started 4-5 from beyond the arc. This opening stretch was capped by a three-ball from third-year forward Romad Dean with 6:30 left in the half that gave Fordham a 38-16 lead.
“I thought Fordham did a really good job of being patient and really getting what they want,” Miller said. “We had a very hard time getting stops, deflections and defensive rebounds. They were just very, very confident in terms of the way they came in and played.”
Rhode Island started to chip away at the deficit in the closing minutes of the first half. Fifth-year guard Jaden House and second-year forward David Fuchs knocked down threes on back-to-back possessions to cut Fordham’s lead down to 14 with three minutes left. After a step-back three from House in the final minute of the half, the teams entered the locker room with Fordham holding a 49-37 lead.
Fourth-year guard Sebastian Thomas, who was named a member of the All A-10 Third Team on Tuesday, got going with a layup in the opening moments of the second half to cut the deficit down to single digits for the first time since 12 minutes left in the first half. On the ensuing possession, a steal from Thomas would turn into a layup from fourth-year guard Quentin Diboundje to cut it down to 56-50 with 14:30 left.
This would be the closest Rhode Island got, however, as Thomas suffered an injury and picked up his fourth foul just a couple minutes later. Thomas was able to re-enter the game, but foul trouble caused him to sit out for the next five minutes and allowed Fordham to stretch its lead back out to double digits.
URI hung around, not allowing Fordham to pull away for a majority of the second half, but a cold spell on offense marked the end of its season. Rhode Island went the last 8:09 of game action without a field goal, allowing Fordham to cruise to the first-round victory. Johnson III, the second-leading scorer in the conference, led all players with 29 points.
“We’re disappointed with our performance today, disappointed for our players because we’ve come a long way,” Miller said. “I was genuinely excited for the game because I thought our guys were genuinely excited to be here and to play.”
In a season where Rhode Island got off to a 9-0 start for the first time since 1947, the same late-season struggles are what plagued them in the end. Following the loss, the Rams are now 6-25 in the months of February and March during Miller’s three-year tenure. This includes an 0-3 record in the A-10 Tournament.
URI ends the season with an 18-13 overall record and losses in five of its final six games, with the only win coming on Saturday. Looking ahead, Rhode Island will be tasked with replacing its top three scorers, Thomas, House and fifth-year forward David Green, this offseason.
