Rams Cruise to First Road Victory

Rams Cruise to First Road Victory

With three games in three days looming on the horizon, the road-weary Rhode Island men’s basketball team took care of business Friday afternoon with a comfortable 75-66 win over the College of Charleston in the subregionals of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

Yesterday was the first of three consecutive games in Toledo for the Rams, and they got off to a strong thanks to standout performances from senior swingman Delroy James (20 points, 12 rebounds) and sophomore Nikola Malesevic (17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field).

James led the Rams (2-1) in scoring for third time in as many games while Malesevic did his damage off the bench, surpassing the career-high 14 points he scored in Tuesday’s win over Brown. Malesevic has set a new career high in each of Rhode Island’s first three games this season and has given the Rams a decisive edge in bench scoring in each of the past two games, including a strong effort Tuesday in which Rhode Island’s reserves contributed with 40 points.

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Sophomore guard Ryan Brooks chipped in with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting (all in the first half) while senior center Will Martell finished with 11 points and 12 boards. The Rams led for most of the game with the exception of a few lead changes in the opening minutes and shot 46 percent from the field, including 39 percent from 3-point range. The Cougars (2-2) just shot 22 percent from long distance and lost the battle on the boards, 42-30.

Rhode Island will play subregional host Toledo on Saturday at 7 p.m. followed by the finale Sunday at 12:30 p.m. against Illinois-Chicago. The Rams return home next with a pre-Thanksgiving showdown against Drexel at the Ryan Center on Wednesday. Rhode Island has now won two consecutive games following a season-opening loss to fourth-ranked Pittsburgh.