The University of Rhode Island Rams defeated the Central Connecticut Blue Devils 77-69 on Sunday, December 15th at the Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island.
Jamarques Lawrence led the Rams in scoring with 16 points, as well as adding 6 assists. David Fuchs added another double-double to his career, adding 10 points and 12 rebounds.
1st Half
The Rams started sluggish, turning the ball over three times in their first six possessions. Without Sebastian Thomas, it took some time to adjust to the offensive flow without him. CCSU took an early advantage behind their exceptional three-point shooting, starting 5-10 from beyond the arc. Tyonne Farrell and David Fuchs were the offensive sparks for the Rams in the first half. Farrell had 7 of the Rams 13 points, keeping the offense afloat. David Fuchs off the bench provided a spark that the Rams desperately needed. Fuchs added 8 points and 6 rebounds in the 1st half. Jamarques Lawrence made back-to-back three-pointers for the Rams to take a 33-28 lead. The Rams did a nice job creating turnovers in the first half, as the Blue Devils had 9 in the first half alone. The Rams took a 3 points advantage going into the locker room.
2nd Half
Jaden House set the tone to start the 2nd half. House added a bucket and a three to get the Ram’s offense going. Rams offense started 8-12 to start the half, to push their lead to 56-46 with 12 minutes to go. A large part of the Ram’s success was sharing the basketball without Sebastian Thomas. 20 assists out of 26 made field goals contributed to the playmaking without Sebastian Thomas. David Fuchs finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds, playing 22 minutes off the bench for the Rams. Late game Central Connecticut made a push to try to cut into the lead late, but the free throws executed by the Rams late helped them secure the victory at the Ryan Center.
Archie Miller gave praise to Central Connecticut State and was certain that they would have a great season this year. Archie stated that the defense has vastly improved from last season, and says the effort level has been “off the charts” this year.
Archie also stated that Sebastian Thomas did not practice throughout this week, and had no plans of playing him this afternoon. Miller was hopeful about Thomas’ recovery, as he tried to give it a go in warmups this morning, but ultimately decided against it.
What’s Next?
The Rhode Island Rams will take on the Temple Owls on Saturday, December 21st at the Mass mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. They will take part in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
