Men’s Basketball
FINAL (11/28): University of Rhode Island 83-78 University of Texas Arlington
FINAL (12/2): URI 84-78 Yale University
URI finished off a sweep of the Jacksonville Classic with an 83-78 victory over UT Arlington to move to 7-0 on the season on Thanksgiving. The Mavericks brought the game within two points at 77-75 with 2:13 to play, but the Rams held on for a win with three straight stops. Rhode Island then returned home on Monday and continued its undefeated season with an 84-78 win against Yale. The Rams have now won eight straight to open the season for the first time in 77 years. Yale led by one point at the end of the first half after leading by seven earlier on. Rhode Island pulled ahead in the second half with just over eight minutes remaining and did not relinquish its lead. Free throws carried the way for URI in the second half, who shot 20-22 from the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes and 27-30 across the game. Read more about the pair of victories in David Okula’s article (page 12, rhodycigar.com).
Women’s Basketball
FINAL (11/28): No. 22 University of Iowa 69-62 URI
FINAL (11/29): Idaho State University 52-50 URI
FINAL (12/4): Providence College 48-45 URI
The Rams failed to pick up a win on the trip to Mexico for the Cancún Challenge on Thursday and Friday. After a hard-fought 69-62 loss to the 2023 national runner-ups, Rhode Island lost on a buzzer-beater the next day to Idaho State. Iowa and URI were tied entering the fourth after leading by one point into halftime, but the Hawkeyes were able to pull away while holding the Rams scoreless for nearly seven minutes to open the final quarter. In the next game on Friday, Idaho State stormed from behind in the fourth quarter with an 11-1 run to take the lead. A turnover on a URI inbound with 7.2 seconds left allowed the Bengals to score a game-winning layup. Finally, the Rams returned home Wednesday to face Providence College. In a defensive back and forth battle, Rhode Island fell against its in-state rival to finish the week winless. Trailing by one point entering the fourth, the Rams were held scoreless for over six minutes of the final quarter. Read further about the busy week in Aidan Garvey’s article (page 12, rhodycigar.com).
Football
FINAL (11/30): No. 10 URI 21-17 Central Connecticut State University
Rhode Island returned to the FCS playoffs for the first time in 39 years on Saturday, defeating CCSU 21-17 to advance to the second round. URI’s victory marked the first season in program history where it earned 11 wins in a season. The Rams were led by Malik Grant’s second-straight 200-yard rushing day, which was another first in program history. Fourth-year quarterback Hunter Helms found fifth-year Tommy Smith for a 38-yard opening score in the first quarter. Fifth-year defensive back Emmanuel Gomes quickly followed up with a 42-yard pick-six to put URI ahead 14-0 early. Rhode Island never trailed, but entered the fourth quarter tied 14-14. Smith scored his second touchdown on a six-yard direct snap out of the Wildcat formation to retake the lead for good. Fourth-year defensive lineman Wesley Neal Jr. put the game away with his first career interception off of a tipped pass. Read more on the historic win in Zack Petrick’s article (page 1, rhodycigar.com).