It took five years for the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team to defeat Providence College again, but the 69-63 victory on Saturday was well worth the wait for Rhody fans.
In front of a sold-out crowd, the Rams put together one of their most notable wins since the hiring of head coach Archie Miller in 2022.
“[It was a] great afternoon for us, our campus, our school, just in general,” Miller said. “It was great to have the support in there today. The Ryan Center was fantastic, our fans, our students, they really came and we knew we would kind of need that type of edge in a game like this.”
Fueled by late runs and the major moments, Rhody improved to 9-0 behind fourth-year Providence native Sebastian Thomas’ 19 points.
Thomas was the ‘X-Factor’ in the moment that took the roof off the Thomas M. Ryan Center, knocking down a long triple over PC’s fourth-year forward Bryce Hopkins, a two-time pre-season Big East First Team selection, with 24 seconds to play.
“Coming into this season, I wanted to shoot the three more, shoot it better ,” Thomas said. “I think being at [the University at] Albany, I actually helped my confidence. My first two years, I wouldn’t have shot that shot when I was here. So I’m glad I developed a three [point shot], developed my confidence, and now my confidence is at an all-time high. ”
Thomas scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half after starting the game just 1-6 from the field.
“Going into halftime, I knew [Jaden House] was the only one who was getting going offensively,” Thomas said. “We’re still in the game, but going into halftime, I told my guys that we gotta step up. I knew shots were gonna start falling in the second half and stuff like that. And I just got going, but I gotta do a better job of playing both halves.”
Fourth-year guard Jaden House had 14 first-half points, half of the Rams 28 total points at the break.
“Amazing, that’s all I really can say about [the atmosphere], to be honest,” House said. “It was the best game I ever played in my life.”
The Rams outscored the Friars 41-28 in the final period of play, overcoming the 35-28 halftime deficit.
“Defensively, we did a good job, especially the last five minutes getting stops and just executing on offense,” Thomas said.
The victory moved the Rams to 9-0 for the first time since 1947, among the likes of legendary coach Frank Keaney. Unfortunately for Rhody fans, the high wouldn’t last long, as the Rams fell to Brown 84-80 in double overtime in Providence on Tuesday.
“Defensively they bothered us in a lot of ways,” Miller said. “Uncharacteristically so far this season, they really rattled us. Responsibility on my end to have our guys more prepared and more offensively ready to go on the road.”
The Bears forced 21 turnovers and allowed just seven assists, a team low for URI on the season. Rhode Island had a chance to win it as the first overtime period ended, as Thomas’ three-point attempt came off the iron and fell into the hands of first-year Tyonne Farrell. Farrell put up the layup as the buzzer went, but it clanked off the rim and out, sending the teams to double-overtime tied at 71.
Brown would have its way in the final period of play, ending the Rams historic nine-game win streak while extending its own to six games.
Rhode Island will look to bounce back on Sunday against Central Connecticut State University at 1 p.m. The game is available to be streamed on ESPN+ with audio broadcasts on WRIU 90.3FM and The Varsity Network.