Shooting struggles down Rams in second straight defeat

Photo courtesy of URI Athletics

Shooting struggles downed Rhode Island when they fell 70-64 against La Salle on Saturday. 

The Rams shot just 34.5% from the field in Philadelphia while making only 25% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Those totals combined with a 68% clip from the free throw line were the main flaw for the Rams as they fell in their second straight game for the first time this season.

Senior guards Sebastian Thomas and Jaden House led the Rams with 16 points each, but neither made a triple until there was under two minutes to play. The bulk of the scoring came from the two seniors and junior Jamarques Lawrence who had 14 points on 5-14 shooting. 

The Rams’ Achilles heel came in the form of fouls, with two players fouling out and two others with three or more. Thomas and senior forward David Green both fouled out while senior center Javonte Brown and Lawrence both collected four and three fouls respectively.   

The fouls allowed the hosts to shoot 32 free throws, making 23 of them for a clip of 71.9%. The Explorers also took advantage of 15 Ram turnovers, a number the team would like to improve but significantly better than the 27 they suffered against VCU on Tuesday. 

Explorers graduate student guard Corey McKeithan scored a game high 20 points enroute to La Salle’s 11th victory of the season. The Rider transfer had struggled during a four game stretch in conference play where he failed to notch double digits in the scoring category. Against Rhody however, he played all 40 minutes and shot 40% from the field, along with six free throws. 

Rhody returns home on Wednesday to take on regional rival UMass at the Ryan Center. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with an audio broadcast available on The Varsity Network.