Shorthanded Rams fall in back-and-fourth battle at Loyola Chicago

Photo courtesy of Josh Paiva - gorhody.com

The injury onslaught continued to weigh down Rhode Island men’s basketball on Wednesday, turning a much-improved offensive performance into a disappointing road loss as the Rams fell 81-77 to the Loyola Chicago Ramblers.

Although the Rams were aided by the return of sophomore forward David Fuchs, who missed the previous two games with a toe injury, they still were without senior guard David Green, who remained out for the third-consecutive game after battling a shoulder injury. To make matters worse, freshman guard Tyonne Farrell was also ruled out after hurting his foot in the shootaround prior to the game. 

As a result, the Rams entered Wednesday's contest slim on depth, and they left Chicago even more shaken.

Green’s average of 15 points per game was filled in the lineup by senior guard Quentin Dibounje, who made the first start of his Rhody career. The start, however, didn’t last long.

Unfortunately for the Rams, their depth issues only got worse when both Dibounje and junior guard Jamarques Lawrence were sidelined with ankle injuries in the span of five minutes in the first half. Dibounje’s night came to a premature end just six minutes in, and that limited URI to a six-man rotation for the majority of the game.

Despite the blows, Rhode Island battled to the end vs. the Ramblers, overcoming a 10-point first half deficit to go into the break with a slim lead for the first time in a month, including a 15-4 run to end the first half. URI’s 39 halftime points more than doubled their 18-point first half output at Richmond last time out.

In a matchup that featured 17 lead changes and eight ties, the battle remained tight until the late stages of the second half, and the Rams shot a much-improved 47% from the field. However, despite the improvement on offense, they could never grow their lead substantially as the Ramblers continued to hit back. 

The inspired offensive effort was once again led by senior guard Sebastian Thomas, who improved his impressive run to seven-straight games with 20 or more points. He finished his night with a team-leading 20 points and six assists. Senior forward Javonte Brown closely followed him with 16 points, while sophomore guard Cam Estevez rounded out the double-figure scoring with a season-high 15 points – just his third double-figure outing of the season.

In the end, the extensive injuries and lack of depth would prove too much to overcome for Rhode Island, who lost their final lead of the game with just over six minutes to play. Although Thomas’ three with 26 seconds on the clock kept the game within one possession, it wasn’t enough to spark his usual late-game heroics as the Rams fell 81-77.

The Rams will return home on Saturday, looking to rebound with a matchup against Davidson at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.