The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team hit the road as they returned to Atlantic 10 Conference action on Wednesday after a week-long hiatus, falling to Fordham University 80-79.
Rhody continued to come up short in its pursuit of back-to-back wins in conference play this season, failing to build off of an 88-82 victory over the University of Massachusetts on Jan. 29.
Fordham took an early seven point lead thanks to five missed field goals to start the night for Rhode Island. Fifth-year forward David Green finally opened the scoring for URI with a three-point make.
Rhode Island was forced to use its first timeout with 10:02 remaining in the first half after Fordham had built a 12-point lead with back-to-back threes.
Fourth-year guard Jackie Johnson III gave Fordham its biggest lead of the half with 7:32 to go as he knocked down his second three-pointer of the night to make it 30-15.
A nine-point run by URI got the Rams within five points with under four minutes to go in the first half. Rhode Island worked the deficit down to just two points entering halftime, 39-37. Fordham’s three-point shooting nosedived after its hot start with eight missed attempts, allowing for the comeback.
Green gave Rhode Island its first lead of the game in the second half as he scored a then game-leading 14th point. The battle of the Rams remained tightly contested from then on.
Fifth-year guard Japhet Medor helped bring Fordham back in front, charging down the court with back-to-back successful lob passes to bring the Rams ahead 63-62.
URI responded with a 9-2 run to take a six-point lead as fourth-year guard Sebastian Thomas closed the run with a triple.
Thomas committed a foul on a rebound attempt with 27 seconds remaining to send Fordham to the free-throw line, trailing by two with a chance to tie.
Fifth-year forward Matt Zona missed the first of his one-and-one chance, and the rebound trailed out of bounds and was confirmed to be Rhode Island’s ball after review.
Third-year guard Jamarques Lawerence put URI ahead by four after being intentionally fouled. Fordham responded with a massive three-point make from Johnson. Thomas had the next chance at the line for Rhode Island, missing the front end of the one-and-one and leaving a chance for Fordham trailing by one.
Zona redeemed himself with a putback on a missed layup by Medor to bring Fordham ahead 80-79. Thomas took a half-court heave at the buzzer, but his try was offline as Rhode Island lost the battle of the Rams in dramatic fashion.
Rhode Island Head Coach Archie Miller was not available for media comment postgame.
The road ahead won’t let up for URI, as the team heads to Virginia to face conference-leading George Mason University on Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+, with a radio broadcast available on The Varsity Network.