The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team put its first regular-season game to bed early, cruising to a 103-59 victory over the College of the Holy Cross.
One week following Rhody’s 101-61 exhibition win over Southern New Hampshire University, URI head coach Archie Miller stuck with the same starting five on Tuesday night at the Ryan Center.
Fifth-year guard Jonah Hinton immediately opened the scoring, getting the Rams on the board with a triple.
“It’s kind of the first shot I take; I get a feeling for if the shot is on or not,” Hinton said. “Obviously throughout the game as you get warm, you get more of a feel and heat up then.”
Two Crusaders buckets put them ahead, but that was the only lead they’d sustain in the contest.
Second-year forward Matas Deniusas gained back the lead for Rhody with two free throws before showing his range from beyond the arc to keep the momentum going.
Hinton knocked down two more 3-pointers to give the Rams a double-digit lead less than seven minutes into the half.
“He brings confidence to your team when he can knock a couple in,” Miller said. “He gives other guys a little bit of that, pop the balloon, so to speak. And when he bangs a couple, I think, at the end of the day, that helps everybody.”
Second-year forward Nedas Raupelis, second-year guard Jalen Harper and second-year guard Barrett Loer each made their presence known off the bench, adding 19 points on the half.
Rhody’s 19-0 first-half scoring run began with a Raupelis dunk and was capped off with a Harper steal and dunk play that put the Rams up by 29.
The Rams accumulated eight steals in the contest while only turning the ball over five times and taking advantage of the 16 Crusaders turnovers to convert 16 points.
“I think if we can buy into the turnovers, really important that they stay down, and if we play to 10 or fewer, a game like tonight, it gives you a real opportunity to have success long term,” Miller said. “There’s nothing more important than ball security with our team, especially having a lot of inexperience and a lot of new guys.”
First-year guard Jaen Chatman, who played over 16 minutes off the bench, earned his first collegiate points with a layup in the final second of the first half, giving Rhody a 58-27 lead.
Despite a slightly slower second half, Rhody paced the floor, utilizing all members of its roster and pushing its lead to as high as 48.
“Coach has put an emphasis on bringing some younger guys in, so we have a lot of energy in the locker room and even on the court that we feed off one another,” Harper said.
The Rams shot consistently throughout the game, finishing at 55.2% from the field. Hinton went 8-11 from the field and 6-9 from beyond the arc, leading the team with 24 points.
Deniusas, Harper and fourth-year guard Jason Fontenet II also hit double digits, with Deniusas grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
“There wasn’t very much difference in terms of production across the board,” Miller said. “If we can carve out roles and niches, I think you have more camaraderie when you have more guys contributing and competing.”
