Rhode Island basketball is off to best start in 77 years. Here's how they won Monday

Rhode Island basketball is off to best start in 77 years. Here’s how they won Monday

Posted by Admin December 3, 2024 Basketball

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SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Frank Keaney was the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball coach the last time a season started like this.

Strength of schedule, you say? The Rams dismantled Charleston in a visit to the Ryan Center and followed Monday night with a second victory over a program that reached the NCAA Tournament last year.

Yale pushed for the full 40 minutes, but URI took command midway through the second half and executed at both ends down the stretch. The Rams also held their nerve at the foul line to post an 84-78 triumph, one that clinched the program’s best opening mark since 1947-48.

Keaney jumped out 9-0 in what proved to be his swansong, retiring with 401 victories and places waiting in multiple Halls of Fame. URI won’t be building a statue for Archie Miller just yet, but this is certainly his best team to date in his third season at Kingston. The Rams stunned the Bulldogs in a 76-72 home win last year – they were short favorites entering this rematch and flashed the required grit when needed.

“Tonight was a fantastic win,” Miller said. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of our guys. The quality of the opponent – we have so much respect.”

Sebastian Thomas was cold-blooded at the stripe late to cap a milestone night that saw him reach 1,000 career points. The former Bishop Hendricken star piled up 18 of his 20 points and four of his six assists over the final 20 minutes, closing 10-for-10 at the line. His twin pairs of makes with 27.8 and 18.4 seconds left helped guide URI to the wire.

“It takes a full game to get going,” Thomas said. “Everything isn’t going to be my night. You just stay with it.”

David Green helped keep the Rams afloat long enough to mount a surge into the lead. His 3-pointer with 9:49 left knotted the game at 56-56, and URI turned on the jets from there. Thomas found Jamarques Lawrence and David Fuchs for conventional three-point plays on the fast break and added a 3-point jumper of his own from the top of the key. The Rams suddenly owned a 65-58 advantage with 6:56 left and never trailed again.

“It’s just having faith and confidence in myself,” Green said. “I have to be someone this team looks to to play well and get them through certain stretches of the game.”

Yale (4-5) opened its largest lead at 35-28 with 1:40 left in the first half thanks to a 6-0 run. John Poulakidas knocked down three free throws and drove for a layup as part of his team-high 25 points, a total that came after starting 0-for-5 from the field. Green’s pair of 3-pointers inside the final 25 seconds dragged URI into the break facing just a 35-34 deficit, including a jumper at the horn from the left corner after Thomas raced down the middle.

“We weren’t spraying the ball around like we needed to and we struggled offensively,” Miller said. “Dave’s two threes to finish the first half really saved us.”

The Rams (8-0) locked in from there to never trail by more than five in the second half. They racked up 19 of their 22 points on the break and all nine of their second chance points while keeping the Bulldogs just out of striking distance. Yale went 4:02 without a field goal until Poulakidas banked home a 3-pointer from the right wing with 48.9 seconds left, and URI leaned on its 27-for-30 effort at the foul line to maintain its margin.

“We’ve been struggling there the past few games, but we’re working every day,” Thomas said. “It helped us tonight.”

Six of Keaney’s teams began 9-0 or better, including in that last campaign. The Rams could equal that number in a Saturday grudge match with Providence, one that figures to be played in front of considerably more than the 3,547 fans who made their way to Kingston on this cold night. The Friars have captured three straight in the series and lost only twice dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.

“It isn’t really about them – it’s about us,” Green said. “I just want to see us keep this thing rolling. Keep it on track and play as hard as we can.”

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25