Kortright Comes Up Clutch, Lifts URI Over Saint Joseph’s In Atlantic 10 Opener

University of Rhode Island Press Release

Rhode Island Starters
Montgomery, Kortright, House, Estevez, Fuchs

Saint Joseph’s Starters 
Reynolds II, Brown, Greer III, Fleming, Finkley

How it Happened
Luis Kortright split two defenders and hit a driving layup with one second on the clock to break a tie and lift Rhode Island to a 78-74 victory over Saint Joseph’s Wednesday night.

Rhode Island (7-7, 1-0 Atlantic 10) rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to win the conference opener for both teams. After Kortright’s drive, the visiting Hawks (10-4, 0-1 A-10) attempted a full-court pass, but the ball sailed out of bounds. Rhody’s Zek Montgomery was fouled before URI could inbound the ball. He sank both shots to ice URI’s second win in a row.

With 15:22 remaining, Saint Joseph’s extended to a 13-point lead on a 3-pointer by Lynn Greer III. The Hawks maintained a double-digit lead until under the 10-minute mark when a Rasheer Fleming dunk made the score 60-50.

From there, Rhode Island went on an 18-5 run that was capped by an old-fashioned three-point play by David Fuchs. That gave the Rams their biggest lead of the night to that point at 68-65. Saint Joseph’s eventually tied it at 70-70 on a Xzayvier Brown 3-pointer with 2:40 to go, but URI never trailed in the final minutes.

Rhody took leads on a drive from Jaden House with 2:18 to go and again on a David Green layup with 28 seconds left, but the Hawks tied the game after each URI basket by making free throws. Erik Reynolds hit 2-of-2 with 27 seconds left, setting up Rhode Island’s final possession and the heroics from Kortright.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island managed to change its luck at the free throw line. After shooting 9-of-18 in the first half, the Rams were 13-of-17 in the second half.
• The Rams had 18 assists and just 10 turnovers.
• Forward David Green recorded his first career double-double, getting 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 32 minutes off the bench.
• Guard Luis Kortright had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists with just one turnover.
• Guard Jaden House had 15 points and three boards.
• Forward David Fuchs recorded his second straight double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out.
• Guard Brandon Weston provided a significant spark off the bench. He had four points, four assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block in 12 minutes.
• He also forced two more Saint Joseph’s turnovers down the stretch that did not go as steals.
• Saint Joseph’s came into the game averaging 11.4 made 3-point baskets per game, but URI limited the Hawks to 8-for-30 from deep.
• Rhode Island used its fifth different starting lineup of the season.

What’s Next
Rhode Island is off until Tuesday, Jan. 9 when it plays at Davidson. Game time is 7 p.m. on ESPN+.