URI Loses Seventh Straight Game

Shooting struggles doomed Rhode Island in a 69-51 senior night loss to George Mason on Wednesday at The Ryan Center.

The Rams (11-19, 5-12 Atlantic 10) shot a season-low 29.4% from the floor (15-of-51) and trailed for all but three minutes of their game against the Patriots (19-11, 8-9 A-10).

Rhode Island was within reach of the lead for most of the first half, trailing by five or so until a second-chance three with 4:35 to go put the visitors ahead by 10 at 28-18. George Mason maintained its advantage from there thanks to a four-minute URI scoring drought, which David Fuchs eventually broke with an old-fashioned three-point play. The Patriots went on to take a 32-23 lead into the locker room.

Coming out of the break, Mason picked up a quick four points to force head coach Archie Miller to call a timeout. While the Rams turned the ball over on their first possession out of the break, they eventually found some rhythm when a Connor Dubsky trey and a David Green three-point play on consecutive possessions had the team facing an 11-point deficit at 40-29 (15:12).

The spurt, however, did not continue as George Mason went on to stretch its lead by as much as 21. Rhode Island was unable to overcome its offensive struggles and suffered its seventh straight loss.

Inside the Box Score
Before tip-off, head coach Archie Miller and his staff honored four members of the team as part of senior night festivities: forward Josaphat Bilau along with student managers Jack Buchan, John McKeown and Brian Martinez.
Forward David Green contributed a team-high 16 points and was a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. He added five rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Guard Luis Kortright tallied nine points and dished out three assists.
Forward Tyson Brown had a career-high three blocks in his 16th start.
Guard Connor Dubsky stayed on the floor for a career-high 17 minutes and scored five points.
Rhode Island shot just 28.6% from the floor in opening 20 minutes. The team shot slightly better in the second half at 30.4%.
Prior to Wednesday, the team’s worst shooting performance was a .385 night against New Hampshire (Dec. 21).
George Mason’s Darius Maddox led all scorers with 21 points. The Patriots shot .439 as a team.
The visitors had the advantage in rebounds (39-37), points in the paint (30-22) and points off turnovers (10-4).
Rhody had 18 points from the bench, while the Patriots recorded 12.
The Rams’ 23 points in the first half were the second-lowest this season. The team scored 21 in the first half at VCU (Feb. 28).
George Mason won both of its regular season meetings opposite URI, having claimed a 92-84 victory on Jan. 27.
Up Next
Rhode Island will close out the regular season with a game at Fordham on Saturday, March 9. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the Bronx and will be streamed on ESPN+.