Rams rebound with win over defending NEC co-champions

Photo courtesy of Grace Steensma

Bouncing back is one of the most important things a team can do following a rivalry loss, and the Rhode Island Rams did just that with a 77-69 victory over Central Connecticut on Sunday. 

“It was a good win,” URI Head Coach Archie Miller said. “We beat a good team and I’m happy for our group that we were able to close out the non-conference portion at home.” 

The Rams were without senior point guard Sebastian Thomas, who was out with a lower leg injury, which allowed junior guard Jamarques Lawrence to be the primary ball handler. Lawrence played all 40 minutes, racking up seven assists to just a single turnover. 

“I thought Jamarques was phenomenal,” Miller said. “[I] thought he did a phenomenal job.”

Lawrence was Rhody’s highest scorer with 16 points on 4-8 shooting. Three other Rams tallied double digits in the scoring category: senior guard David Green (14), freshman forward Tyonne Farell (13) and sophomore forward David Fuchs (10). 

“We got a number of contributions,” Miller said. “Tyonne had a really good day today as well, [he] worked hard…I think David [Fuchs] continues to improve. He’s rebounding at a really high rate.”

Fuchs had 12 rebounds along with his 10 points, notching his second double-double of the season. His first came in a win against Division II opponent Franklin Pierce on Nov. 12, when he had 11 points and 10 boards. 

The Rams were able to get to the free throw line 28 times against the Blue Devils, forcing 21 personal fouls. The Rams made 17 of the attempts – a clip of just over 60% – but only allowed nine attempts from the visitors, who made seven. 

Rhody also cleaned up its turnover issue after giving up 21 turnovers against Brown in the teams first loss of the season last week. URI had just seven giveaways against the Blue Devils, a more efficient night per possession. 

CCSU’s Devin Haid carried the load for the visitors with 24 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes of action. It was the junior guard's first 20+ point performance in a Blue Devil uniform along with his most field goal attempts (17) and conversions (9) of the season. 

Haid did not have as much help as Lawrence did, with just a single teammate also in double figures. Senior guard Joe Ostrowsky tallied 11 points on 4-6 shooting with seven rebounds.​​ The 11 points matched his season-high, originally set when he made four field goals against Vermont State Johnson on Nov. 11. 

The Rams wrap up their non-conference schedule with a neutral site matchup against Temple University at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts on Saturday. The game is available to be streamed on CBS Sports Network with audio broadcasts on 90.3FM WRIU and The Varsity Network.