URI Men's Hoops Scores 66-63 Comeback Win over Metro State

URI Men's Hoops Scores 66-63 Comeback Win over Metro State

It wasn’t pretty, but the University of Rhode Island Men’s Basketball team scored a 66-63 come from behind victory over Division 2 Metro State Monday night in the opening round of the NIT Season Tipoff Event in Tucson, Arizona.

Trailing 40-30 at the half to the top ranked Division 2 team in America, Rams Head Coach Dan Hurley made some halftime adjustments and came out with a small ball lineup of Biggie Minnis, Xavier Munford, E.C. Matthews, Jarelle Reischel, and Gilvydas Biruta. URI used that lineup to kickstart a 17-5 run that saw them take their first lead of the ballgame at the 11:36 mark in the 2nd half.

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Both teams went a bit cold shooting-wise down the stretch but a pair of offensive rebounds turned put-backs by Biruta were monumental in keeping Rhody on top. Matthews and Munford combined to go 5-6 on free throws in the final minute and the Rams held on for a wild 66-63 victory.

Munford and Matthews each finished with 16 points, but Munford shot just 5-18 from the floor while Matthews was 5-14. Minnis, Reischel, and Biruta combined for 25 points on 13-16 shooting.

Mitch McCarron was outstanding for Metro State, scoring 19 points on 8-11 shooting. The 6’3” guard also pulled down a game high 12 rebounds and looked like the best player on the floor for most of the night. Harrison Goodrick added 16 points off the bench of 5-6 shooting for the Roadrunners.

URI was sloppy and made a slew of mental errors in the 1st half, allowing the Roadrunners to take advantage and seize control of the game through the first 20 minutes.

For the game, Rhody out-rebounded Metro State 42-27 but committed 16 turnovers to the Roadrunners’ 9.

URI improves to 3-1 overall on the season and will take on the winner of tonight's game between Arizona and Fairleigh Dickinson tomorrow night in the second round of the tournament.