Game of the Night
Rhode Island Rams 68, Massachusetts Minutemen 50
Besides a short 14-2 run by UMass in the 2nd half, the Rhode Island Rams dominated this game from start to finish. Holding UMass to just 12 first half points, the Rams stifling defense led them to a win in this one. Rhode Island forced UMass to commit 13 turnovers and did not allow the Minutemen to find any offensive rhythm all night. Part of this was due to the fact that the Minutemen, as a team, recorded just 5 assists in total. Rhode Island held UMass to 28% shooting from the field and just 4-17 (23%) from three point range. For Derek Kellogg’s team, those type of offensive numbers this late in the season are head-scratching.
As for the Rams, they played an outstanding all around game. Towards the end of the first half, they led by a whopping 26 points and dominated both sides of the ball. A large part of the Ram’s success tonight came from their three point shooting. Rhode Island shot 9-20 (45%) from deep and also converted 81% of their foul shots. Jared Terrell led the way for the Rams with 15 points. Kuran Iverson had himself a great game, putting up a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Rashaan Holloway and Donte Clark did what they could for the Minutemen tonight, each scoring in double figures. After going down by so much in the first half, UMass battled hard and cut the Rhode Island lead to 10 at one point in the 2nd half. The Rams, however, proved themselves too much to handle on senior night.
Up next for UMass is last place La Salle. The Minutemen hope to win Saturday and gain a little momentum before the A-10 tournament starts. Rhode Island also finds itself back in action Saturday as it travels to the Bronx for a showdown with Fordham. I recently picked Rhode Island as my #2 dark horse to take home the A-10 tournament title and a convincing win like this certainly builds that belief. Despite all the injuries, Rhode Island keeps trucking as they have now silently won 3 of their last 4 games.
