Game of the Night
Rhode Island Rams 77, Richmond Spiders 65
The three ball was falling Tuesday night for Rhode Island, and they rode that hot shooting to a home win and a 2-0 conference start. The Rams were absolutely on fire from long range Tuesday, nailing 12 of 17 threes (70.6%). This was highlighted by the performances by guards Jarvis Garrett and Four McGlynn, who were 4-4 and 4-5 from deep respectively. Garrett chipped in 8 assists, and Jared Terrell did a great job of driving to the basket and getting to the line, and finished with 18 points.
Perhaps the most encouraging thing for Rhode Island however was the return of star forward Hassan Martin. After missing the last two games with an injury, Martin was able to play 27 minutes. His time on the court was very productive, as he scored 10 points, pulled down 7 rebounds, and blocked 5 shots. As Rhode Island plunges into the conference season, a healthy Hassan Martin will be a major key if they want to challenge for a conference title and a NCAA Tournament bid.
T.J. Cline led the way for Richmond, who simply didn’t shoot well enough to keep up with Rhode Island. Cline had 28 points on 13-17 shooting, and Terry Allen had 19 points. Turnovers eventually plagued the Spiders, as they gave the ball away 14 times, and only accumulated 11 assists. A 33.3% day from three and eight missed free throws made it tough for the Spiders to get back into the game after Rhode Island opened up a sizable lead in the second half.
Richmond, losers of three straight, look to right the ship on January 10th at Fordham, while Rhode Island will try to stay hot as they go on the road to play Saint Joseph’s the same day.
Elsewhere in A10 Play
VCU Rams 85, Saint Joseph’s Hawks 82
After trailing most of the game, and at one point in the second half by 13 points, VCU mounted a furious comeback on the heels Mo Allie-Cox’s tenacious post play. The VCU big man took over the game with 3:00 remaining and his team down six: he scored the next ten points for VCU over the following 1:48, giving the Rams a lead they would not relinquish, even though DeAndre Bembry had a chance to tie the game with a three pointer at the buzzer.
Isaiah Miles had 31 points and Bembry added 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists in a losing effort for the Hawks. For VCU, Mo Allie-Cox ended up with 14 points, while Melvin Johnson led the way with 25.
Saint Joseph’s falls to 1-1 in conference play, and will host Rhode Island on January 10th. VCU moves to 2-0 in conference and adds a key win after an underwhelming non-conference season. The Rams will travel to Saint Louis to take on the 5-8 Billikens on January 10th as well.
