5 Takeaways From URI's 58-55 Loss to Valparaiso
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
5 Takeaways From URI's 58-55 Loss to Valparaiso
See the Five Takeaways Slideshow Below
The Rams led 27-26 with 15 minutes left in the game after a Four McGlynn layup but were unable to defend a Valparaiso 8-2 run that put them up 24-29 with 11 minutes to go.
URI found themselves trailing by nine points, 51-42, with 4:33 left to play but managed to claw back to within one point, 56-55, after a Jared Terrell layup with 34 seconds to play.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Rams put Valparaiso at the free throw line and they converted their free throws to take a 58-55 lead.
Rhode Island would have one more shot to tie the game and it would come in the form of Four McGlynn launching a three pointer off of a Hassan Martin inbounds pass with just seconds left.
The shot just missed going in, giving the Crusaders the road victory.
The Leaders
URI was led by Four McGlynn who made his first start of the season, replacing E.C. Matthews, and netted 13 points.
Hassan Martin added a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds as well as six blocked shots in the game, five of which came in the first half.
Up Next
The Rams return to action on Saturday night when they host Cleveland State at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Cancun Challenge.
For more on this game, see the five takeaways slideshow below.
5 Takeaways From URI"s 58-55 Loss to Valparaiso
Hassan Martin
Hassan Martin did his part, putting up his first double-double of the season with ten points and ten rebounds in the game to go along with six blocked shots, five of which came in the first half.
Martin's ten points came on 4 of 11 shooting from the feild and 2 of 6 from the free throw line.
Only negative to Martin's game was the five turnovers.
Bench points... or not
The game's battle of the benches was pretty insignificant. URI had four points off the bench, all from Earl Watson while Valparaiso had six points off the bench.
With Matthews out and McGlynn in the starting role, the Rams lose some automatic scoring off the bench.
Earl Watson, Nicola Akele and Christion Thompson will look to and need to step up as the season continues.
Four McGlynn
With E.C. Matthews out, Four McGlynn made the start in his place for the Rams. Four had 13 points on 4 of 11 shooting from the field, including 3 of 7 from three-point land.
McGlynn also had two assists, two steals and two rebounds in his 35 minutes of action.
McGlynn just missed a game tying three-pointer with a second left on the clock.
In URI's first game, McGlynn had 15 points off the bench.
Free Throws
After shooting only 42% from the free throw line in their first game of the season, URI was a little better in this one, shooting 54% (13 of 24) from the charity stripe.
Despite the improvement, free throws proved costly in this game as URI missed three of their final six free throws, all coming with under 3:30 left to play in the game. The final two free throws would have pulled the Rams to within one point, 53-52, with 1:43 to play.
Instead they were down three, and then went down six after Valparaiso buried a three pointer on their next possession.
By comparison, Valparaiso was 11 of 13 from the free throw line in the game.
Shooting struggles
Jared Terrell struggled to get his 11 points, going 4 of 14 from the field. However, he wasn't the only one.
URI as a team had offensive struggles in the game, only shooting 35% (18 of 51) for the game, including 42.9 % from three-point land.
The Rams only had 3 fast break points and seven assists in the game.
To be fair, Valparaiso did not exactly light up either as they only shot 40% from the field, including 27 % from three.
Both teams struggled shooting. Maybe it was the 10 a.m. start. Seriously.
