URI Men's Basketball Gets Its First Win of the Miller Era

URI Men's Basketball Gets Its First Win of the Miller Era

The University of Rhode Island men's basketball team won its first game of the season by defeating Stony Brook 74-64 Tuesday night.

The Rams (1-2) on the season. Coach Archie Miller gets his first win at the URI coach.
 
Leggett led the way for URI, scoring 11 of his game-high 18 points in the first half. With time expiring, The Rams shot 48.3 percent from the floor while also limiting the visitors to 1-for-17 from 3-point range. As the half came to a close, URI forward Abdou Samb grabbed an offensive rebound and was able to beat the clock with layup, sending the Rams into halftime with a 34-30 lead.
 
The second half started strong for the Rams. Malik Martin hit a pair of 3-pointers and another long ball from Hutchinson ignited the Rams offense early on, as URI built a 43-32 lead by the 16-minute mark. An old-fashioned three-point play by Hutchinson gave the Rams their biggest lead of the night at 46-34 with 12:34 remaining. 
 
Stony Brook did not go away quietly, twice cutting the lead to three points. However, Rhode Island never relinquished the lead and eventually pulled away down the stretch. Thomas scored six of his career-high 13 points over the final three minutes to help the Rams ice the victory.

Highlights

-URI had 18 assists on its 25 field goals, as solid ball movement helped the Rams shoot 43.9 percent from the field.  

- By comparison, Stony Brook shot just 37.0 percent as a team, including just 17.2 percent (5-for-29) from the arc.

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- Sophomore Ishmael Leggett led Rhode Island with 18 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. He has led URI in scoring in each of the first three games.

- Freshman Louis Hutchinson had his best career performance, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He added three rebounds and was 2-for-3 from the arc.

- Hendricken grad and sophomore Sebastian Thomas picked up his first career double-double, finishing with career highs in points (13) and assists (10). 
Thomas was one assist shy of the Ryan Center record of 11, set by Dustin Hellenga against New Hampshire in the 2003-04 season.

- Senior Malik Martin was the fourth Ram in double figures with 12 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. He also hit three 3-point shots.

 

Next Game

Rhode Island heads to the Cayman Islands Classic next week. The Rams open the tournament against Kansas State Monday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m.