Rams rally for second consecutive win

Rams rally for second consecutive win

A new hero emerged Wednesday for Rhode Island on a night when its biggest star didn’t shine the brightest.

Sophomore Akeem Richmond finished with a career-high 25 points, including seven 3-pointers, as the Rams rallied to beat Lafayette, 73-65, at the Ryan Center.

Richmond carried the Rams (8-4) while Delroy James struggled with just seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists. James had led the team in scoring in nine of its first 11 games prior to Wednesday. Nikola Malesevic finished with 15 points and Marquis Jones added 14.

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Rhode Island, which has won back-to-back games since losing at Quinnipiac, won the battle of the boards (38-29) and shot 46 percent from the field, but Wednesday’s game wasn’t as easy as the final score indicated. The Rams had a brief lead early on courtesy of a 7-0 run, but the Leopards (4-8) responded with a 9-2 run of its own to take a six-point lead into the break.

Richmond nailed two quick threes to keep the Rams close at the start of the second half and hit another shot from long distance to help Rhode Island reclaim the lead. Lafayette failed to quit, responding with another run to take a five-point lead in the closing minutes, but the Rams answered with an 8-0 run to regain control.

Rhode Island will return to action on Dec. 29 at home against Boston College.