URI Beats Richmond in OT

URI Beats Richmond in OT

Saturday night on the road, the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team came back from another first-half deficit and beat Richmond University 67-64 in overtime.

URI trailed for 36:48 of the game and fell behind at the half 25-18. The Rams have had a difficult time scoring in the first half of each of their four conference games.

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Once again, the Rams’ Sebastian Thomas led the way. He scored a Ram-high 23 points and the last 5 points of overtime to give Rhode Island the win.

Sebastian also added 7 rebounds.

Jayden House added 18 points for URI.

The win raises URI’s record to 13-3 on the season and 2-2 in the Atlantic 10.

The Spiders had won the last 6 times the two had met at the Robins Center in Richmond.

FIRST HALF:

Rhode Island trailed by as many as 14 points during a dismal first half in which URI shot 29.6 percent from the field, including 1-for-13 from long range. The team's lone 3-pointer was a shot from Cam Estevez in the final minute that bounced off the rim twice and backboard once before falling in. Despite the struggles, the Rams finished the half with a 9-2 run to get within 25-18 at the break.

 

SECOND HALF:

The second half was a different story. Rhody opened the period with an 11-3 run to take a 28-27 lead four minutes into the half. The teams traded leads early, but Richmond (7-10, 2-2 A-10) eventually got back up by seven 48-41 with just under seven minutes to go.
 
The Rams continued to fight, and Quentin Diboundje scored six straight points as part of a 7-0 URI run to knot the score at 48-48. Over the final 2:28 of regulation, each team had multiple leads in a thrilling finish. Jamarques Lawrence hit a 3-pointer with 1:21 to go to give Rhody a 53-52 lead, but Dusan Neskovic was fouled shooting a 3-pointer of his own and made all three free throws for a 55-53 Spider lead. 

The Ram's House – playing in his hometown – hit a drive with 35 seconds to go to tie the game. On Richmond's final possession, Javonte Brown blocked a drive to send the game into overtime.
 

OVERTIME:

Overtime featured five lead changes and three ties as the teams traded blow for blow. Sebastian Thomas scored nine points in the extra period and Lawrence hit another 3-pointer to key the Rams. Lawrence's 3-pointer put URI ahead 63-62 with 1:25 to go, but Neskovic (28 points) hit a pair of free throws to put his team back in front 64-63 with 36 seconds left.

Thomas responded with a turnaround jumper in the paint for a 65-64 lead, then he grabbed the rebound after a defensive stop. He was fouled with six seconds to go and iced the game by making both free throws.