Men's basketball fend off late comeback bid in Jacksonville, off to best start in 44 years

Image courtesy of Shane Donaldson

Although turbulent, the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team used a strong start to see out the win in its first game away from the Ryan Center this season, opening up the Jacksonville Classic with an 81-75 win over Detroit Mercy on Wednesday.

The win kept the Rams perfect as they moved to 6-0 — their best start to a season in 44 years. 

“[Detroit Mercy] was the first team that we weren't able to overwhelm around the basket, and they made things hard,” URI Head Coach Archie Miller said. “It was a tough-minded game. And as they hung with it, our defense really bent and caved at times.” 

In game one of the two-day tournament – which Rhode Island will close out vs. UT Arlington on Thursday – the Rams used a 5-0 start to keep their distance throughout the first half. David Green and Jamarques Lawrence combined for five three-pointers and 19 points in the opening 20 minutes, helping the team to a season-best 13-25 mark from distance throughout the game.

Sophomore Cam Estevez also got in on the action from distance off the bench, scoring all of his season-best 15 points from the perimeter. He went 4-4 to close out the first half as the Rams took a 46-36 advantage into the locker room.

Although an efficient Rams’ offence saw them shoot 50 percent from the floor, including a 9-16 tally from three in the first half, it wasn’t enough to stop a resilient Titans team from rallying back late. Fueled by a career-high 28 points from Detroit Mercy guard Orlando Lovejoy, the Titans went on a 20-7 run in the second half to knot the game at 60 with nine minutes to play. 

“We tried like crazy to get our team to adjust,” Miller said. “But the thing that I love about it is we felt pressure. We had a lot of adversity. And at the end of the day, we had a couple guys step up in big moments and make plays.”

David Green, who played a critical role in the second half after getting into early foul trouble, helped the Rams fend off the comeback bid, completing a team-high 20-point performance with back-to-back baskets to re-take the lead. From there, a 10-4 URI run made it a 70-64 game.

The Titans still wouldn’t back down, keeping the game within one possession with less than 40 seconds left. However, Lawrence and Sebastian Thomas took advantage of late fouls down the stretch, sinking all six combined attempts from the line to seal a 81-75 win. Thomas and Lawrence finished the game with 11 and 13 points respectively, as two of four Rams to finish the day in double-figures.

“It wasn't our best game, but I will tell you this, we continue to learn about ourselves,” Miller said. “We shot it well. But you want to feel adversity. You want to feel pressure. And when you do it on the road or an exempt event and you're playing against teams you don't know that much about, you [have] got to operate on the fly.”

Thomas also brought down six rebounds and dished nine assists, marking his fourth-straight game with at least nine and bringing his season total to 44 – good for fourth in the nation.

The Rams will operate on a quick turnaround, returning to the floor to close out the Jacksonville classic vs. UT Arlington on Thursday at 2 p.m. on BallerTV.com. Then, Archie Miller’s squad will gear up for a tough home stretch as they welcome Yale and Providence to the Ryan Center next week.