The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team tallied two more losses against St. Bonaventure University on Thursday and Saint Joseph’s University on Saturday before earning a win against Duquesne University on Wednesday.
Due to travel restrictions with the snowstorm, the Rams were unable to play their scheduled game on Wednesday, instead facing off against the Bonnies the following day.
The Bonnies came into the contest with only three wins in conference play, averaging 76.5 points per game. In their best offensive performance of the season, the Bonnies took down the Rams 94-76.
After back-and-forth action midway through the first half, a triple by fourth-year guard Cayden Charles started a 10-0 scoring run for the Bonnies.
Seventh-year guard Tyler Cochran scored his second three-pointer of the evening for the Rams to end the Bonnies’ scoring run, but the Bonnies maintained a 39-30 lead heading into halftime.
Despite going 6-7 from beyond the arc, the Rams could not cut into their deficit. Shooting 17-26 from the field, the Bonnies’ lead got to as high as 21 points in the second half.
“We beat a good Rhode Island team that had beaten Saint Louis [University], and we shared the ball,” St. Bonaventure Head Coach Mark Schmidt said. “We had five guys in double figures. So, we did everything that we needed to do to win the game, and [I’m] just proud of their effort.”
Cochran’s 21-point performance marked his seventh time this season scoring more than 20 points in a game. Charles and fourth-year guard Frank Mitchell combined for 44 points in the contest for the Bonnies, helping their team snap a three-game losing streak.
On the other hand, the Hawks came into the Ryan Center on Saturday afternoon with a three-game winning streak, fighting for a double-bye position in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.
After shooting 45% from the field against the Bonnies, the Rams shot 27% from the field against the Hawks, including 7-30 shooting in the second half.
The Hawks did not score a field goal until six minutes into the first half, allowing the Rams to jump out to a 9-2 lead.
However, the tides turned from that point on, as the Hawks outscored the Rams 14-2, taking a five-point lead at the nine-minute mark. Fifth-year forward Keeyan Itejere and third-year wing Jahmere Tripp responded with back-to-back layups, and Tripp earned a trip to the charity stripe to tie the game at 16.
Fourth-year guard Jonah Hinton hit Rhody’s second three-pointer of the half in the Rams’ final run, cutting the deficit to three. The Hawks maintained and built on their lead in the second half, reaching the double-digit differential five minutes in.
Fifth-year forward Alex Crawford knocked down back-to-back triples to get back within single-digits. At the four-minute mark, Crawford hit a layup to get within three, and Cochran converted two free throws to make it a one-point game.
However, the Rams went scoreless following the Cochran buckets, as the Hawks secured their 61-55 road victory.
“The bottom line for our team today, let’s just keep it simple, we didn’t make a shot,” URI Head Coach Archie Miller said. “We really struggled to shoot the ball. We needed some balls to go in at crucial times.”
Rhody played their final home game of the season against a struggling Dukes team, with both teams looking to get back in the win column after three straight losses.
URI scored no points off of 13 turnovers by Saint Joseph’s. On Wednesday, Rhody’s first basket of the day was sixth-year guard Myles Corey’s layup off a Duquesne turnover.
Cochran led the Rams in first-half scoring with nine points, featuring Rhody’s lone three-pointer of the half. Despite Crawford’s jumper off a Dukes turnover extending Rhody’s lead to six, the Dukes outscored the Rams 17-6 in the remainder of the half.
URI was held scoreless in the final six minutes of the half, allowing a go-ahead triple by fourth-year guard Brandon Hall. Fourth-year forward David Dixon’s free throw with two seconds remaining extended the Dukes’ lead to 24-19 heading into halftime.
Beginning the second half, the Rams kept things close to a one-possession game before Tripp made a jumper that brought the Rams within two, and Cochran’s fast break layup tied the game at 33-33.
After a two-minute scoring drought for both teams midway through the half, the Rams pulled away, sparked by a Cochran three-point play.
A 14-25 shooting performance from the field led Rhody to build up a 13-point lead, their largest lead of the evening, and come away with a 64-52 victory.
“For the last 80 minutes of action, if you look at St. Joe’s, then you look at tonight, to be able to defend the way that we’re defending and being in these games, the way they’re shooting the ball, it’s a pretty great sign of a group of guys that really care and try,” Miller said.
With the victory, the Rams have secured a first-round bye in the A-10 Tournament, avoiding the play-in game for the first time in five years.
For their final regular-season game, the Rams will travel to take on Fordham University on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+ with a radio broadcast on The Varsity Network.
