URI Holds Off La Salle To Stop Four-Game Losing Streak

University of Rhode Island Press Release

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

La Salle Starters
Brickus, Brantley, Shepherd, Vahlberg Fasas, Jocius

How it Happened
It came down to the final minutes, but Rhode Island staved off a push from La Salle to secure a 71-69 victory on Wednesday night at The Ryan Center. URI snapped a four-game losing streak and returned to .500 in conference play with the result.

Despite the Rams (10-11, 4-4 Atlantic 10) maintaining the lead for nearly 27 minutes throughout the evening, the Explorers managed to make the game feel like it was up for grabs all evening. After a jump shot pulled La Salle within three at 68-65 with less than a minute to go, the teams went on to trade free throws down the stretch. David Green knocked down a pair to put the Rams up by four and while each side made an additional shot in the closing 10 seconds, it was his free throws that put the game out of reach.

The night began with momentum favoring the visitors, as all of their first nine points were scored from beyond the arc. It took 10 minutes for the Rams to claim their first advantage, as Green capped off a 9-0 run with a trey that put them up 15-13. URI managed to keep its distance from there, eventually taking a 36-29 lead into the break.

La Salle (11-10, 2-6 A-10) picked up a quick six points to kick off the half and was eventually able to tie up the score at 40. The teams battled for control until a Luis Kortright bucket put his side ahead 47-45 with 12:12 to go and the Rams never trailed from there.

Tyson Brown played a pivotal role in the final few minutes as part of an effort that saw Rhode Island earn a 28-10 advantage in bench points. He blocked a shot and then made a basket on the other end to put URI up by seven with just over five minutes to go and later added a pair of made free throws.

Inside the Box Score

• With the win, the Rams avenged last year’s season-ending loss that La Salle handed them in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
• Rhode Island exceeded last year’s win total with the victory.
• David Green scored a game-high 20 points. In nine games this year, he has fallen short of the double-digit mark just three times.
• The only other Ram to score more than 10 was Luis Kortright, who chipped in 11. Both he and Green added five boards apiece.
• Brandon Weston led the team on the glass, matching his career-high with six rebounds. He also poured in five points and had a pair of assists.
• Tyson Brown had his fifth two-block game of the season. He leads the Rams with 17 on the year.
• The Explorers entered the night averaging 9.7 turnovers per outing to go along with a conference-best 1.55 assist-to-turnover ratio. Though they committed five turnovers in the first 20 minutes, they took better care of the ball in the second half to finish with eight.
• It was the fifth game of the season that La Salle had taken more than 30 shots from downtown. Despite their hot start, the team shot 25.8% from three.
• Rhode Island finished the night just ahead of its season average of .621 from the charity stripe. The Rams converted 18 of 27 for 66.7%.

What’s Next
Rhode Island will continue its homestand with a game against Duquesne on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is at 12:30 p.m. on the USA Network.