Thrilling finish lifts Rhody to victory

Thrilling finish lifts Rhody to victory

A little hustle went a long way Saturday as Rhode Island pulled off one of its most improbable victories in years.

The Rams rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half, coughed up a late lead in regulation and then beat Charlotte, 71-70, in overtime at the Ryan Center on a put-back by Jamal Wilson as time expired.

Rhode Island (16-9, 7-4 Atlantic 10) trailed by three in the closing seconds of overtime, but Marquis Jones hit a driving layup with 12 seconds to go and Nikola Malesevic forced a jump ball on the ensuing possession, giving the Rams one last shot without having to foul and send Charlotte to the free-throw line. Jones missed the game-winning attempt, but Wilson collected the rebound and got his shot off before time expired. The put-back was Wilson’s only field goal of the afternoon.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

The game seemed lost early in the second half as Charlotte opened up a 17-point lead following an abysmal opening half by the Rams in which they shot just 24 percent from the field. Rhode Island cut into Charlotte’s lead with a 13-0 run and then pulled out in front on an alley-oop dunk by Orion Outerbridge with under nine minutes remaining. Akeem Richmond, who led the Rams with 20 points, fueled the run with three 3-pointers.

Rhode Island led down the stretch, but couldn’t hit its free throws to close out the win. Charlotte trailed by two in the closing seconds of regulation and tied the game when Delroy James inexplicably fouled Chris Braswell, sending the forward to the line for two free throws. Jones got blocked on his game-winning attempt at the end of regulation.

Braswell led the Knights (10-14, 2-8 A-10) before fouling out. Malesevic chipped in with 19 points for Rhode Island. The Rams return to the court Saturday at home against Massachusetts.