Jeremy Foumena Leads URI Past Wagner

Rhode Island used its rebounding and defense to keep Wagner at an arm’s length for much of the game, picking up a 69-53 victory Tuesday night.

Zek Montgomery and Jeremy Foumena gave the Rams (3-0) a big boost in the first half. With Jaden House and David Fuchs saddled with foul trouble, Montgomery had nine points, seven boards and three assists while Foumena had 10 points and four boards. It led to Rhody opening a 37-26 lead by the half.

Wagner (1-2) scored the first two baskets of the second half to trim the URI lead to seven points, but a 10-3 run that included scoring from five different players pushed the lead back to 15 points. A pair of Luis Kortright free throws put the Rams up 48-33 with 14:51 to go, and the lead stayed in double figures for all but 28 seconds the rest of the way.

Foumena put an exclamation point on the win with a steal and coast-to-coast dunk in the final minute.

Inside the Box Score
This marks the second time in three years that the Rams have begun a season 3-0. The 2021-22 team did so with wins against Boston University, Bryant and Boston College.
Rhode Island will look for its first 4-0 start since the start of the 2016-17 season.
Zek Montgomery became the second player this season to post a double-double, turning in 13 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds.
The 11 boards were a career high, and the double-double was the first of his career.
Montgomery was 6-of-9 from the field to go with six assists in 37 minutes.
Jeremy Foumena continues to improve in each outing, pouring in a career-best 16 points. He had four highlight-reel dunks and corralled seven boards.
Jaden House had 15 points and four rebounds.
Luis Kortright added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Rhode Island has had at least four players in double figures scoring in all three games this season.
The Rams outrebounded 46-27, allowing just seven offensive boards.
URI had a 48-16 edge in points in the paint.
As a team, the Rams had 16 assists with just 10 turnovers.
Up Next
Rhode Island heads to the Hall of Fame Tip-Off for a pair of games at Mohegan Sun this weekend. The Rams play Northwestern Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Sunday’s game will be against either Mississippi State or Washington State.