The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team split games with George Mason University and St. Bonaventure University, putting itself at 5-7 in Atlantic 10 Conference play with six games remaining before the postseason.
URI had its work cut out to try and take down the A-10’s first-place team on their court. A dry second half for the Rams allowed GMU to pull ahead, extending its winning streak and taking down the Rams 82-67.
The Patriots and Rams are only separated by four wins overall, but they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum, as the Rams’ nine-game winning streak occurred at the beginning of the season, while the Patriots haven’t lost since Jan. 4. That loss was to Rhody at the Ryan Center, when fourth-year guard Sebastian Thomas hit a last-second shot to give Rhody the victory.
The Patriots went 8-12 from beyond the arc in the first half, building a 16 point lead on URI, who went 1-4 on three-pointers. However, a 10-3 Rams scoring run late in the period cut the Patriots’ lead to six points at halftime.
GMU started the second half with a 12-4 scoring run, pushing their lead to 13 points four minutes in. This time, URI could not come back with a run of its own, as they shot 4-17 from the field to begin the half.
The Patriots’ lead extended to as much as 20, giving them breathing room throughout the half on their way to victory. Second-year forward David Fuchs led the Rams in scoring with 17 points.
Following their two-game road trip, the Rams returned home to face off against the Bonnies, with both teams riding two-game losing streaks. The game’s leading scorer, URI third-year guard Jamarques Lawrence, made a game-winner with 2.4 seconds to go, giving Rhody the 68-64 victory.
Lawrence, who had a career-high 20 points in the contest, got things started for the Rams with the team’s first four points and a steal three minutes into the game. From there, the Rams and Bonnies traded three-pointers, but the Bonnies pulled away with an 8-0 scoring run to give them a 20-10 lead with 12:09 left in the half.
Rhody got within five points, but back-to-back scores by third-year guard Lajae Jones helped the Bonnies stay in control of the half. A three-ball by URI fourth-year forward David Green cut the lead to four at 3:14, but another 8-0 run by the Bonnies to end the half extended their lead to 37-25.
Seven points from Fuchs, along with Thomas’ first points of the game at 15:35, helped Rhody cut the deficit to single digits. Just when it looked like momentum was swinging Rhody’s way after they cut the lead down to three, second-year guard Jonah Hinton hit two consecutive three-pointers.
Two Lawrence triples helped get URI back within three points, but it was Thomas who hit the game-tying three-pointer with 6:14 remaining.
Green missed an opportunity to convert a three-point play with a missed foul shot, but quickly made up for it with a shot from beyond the arc to give Rhody the one point lead.
The Bonnies’ leading scorer, fourth-year guard Melvin Council Jr., tied things up with a three-ball at 2:34. Council added two charity shots to give the Bonnies the lead back, but couldn’t make an open layup, leading to Rhody rushing down the court and finding Lawrence for a game-winning four-point play.
“ It felt good, especially coming off back-to-back losses, so we couldn’t lose this one,” Lawrence said.
Heading into the last stretch of the season, Rhody is prepared to climb their way back up the conference standings into the month of March.
“ We have to keep doing it the right way and we have to prepare to play La Salle [University] on Saturday, that’s what we worry about,” URI Head Coach Archie Miller said. “We’ve been in a lot of these games, and I do believe that our guys understand that if they have a great attitude and they stay with it through the course of 40 minutes, that we can get there.”
URI’s matchup with the Explorers will take place on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Ryan Center and will be streamed on ESPN+, with radio broadcasts available on WRIU and The Varsity Network.
