VCU Builds Early Lead To Run Past URI Wednesday

University of Rhode Island Press Release

Rhode Island Starters
Montgomery, Kortright, House, Brown, Weston

VCU Starters
Jackson, Bairstow, Shulga, Kuany, Fermin

How it Happened
VCU dominated from start to finish, handing Rhode Island its fifth straight loss, an 88-67 loss Wednesday night.
Rhode Island (11-16, 5-9 Atlantic 10)

VCU (19-9, 11-4 A-10) jumped all over Rhody early with a 17-3 run to start the game. URI briefly got the deficit back to single digits at 21-12 following a Jaden House drive. However, a technical foul on House after the basket led to a pair of Max Shulga free throws followed by a Joe Bamisile 3-pointer that pushed the VCU advantage to 26-12. From there, it was never closer than 13 points the rest of the half, with VCU leading by as many as 23 before the break. Bamisile and Shulga each scored 13 to help VCU take a 42-21 lead into halftime.

Rhody (11-17, 5-10 A-10) showed a bit of life early in the second half. After falling behind by 28 points, URI found its range from the outside, hitting six of its first eight 3-point attempts. Connor Dubsky hit three of them, but URI could not truly threaten the lead. The deficit got down to 19 with 10:44 remaining, but that was as close as Rhode Island was able to get the score.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island used its 10th different starting lineup of the season.
• URI shot 28.0 percent from the floor (7-for-25) in the first half, the lowest of any half this season.
• The team found some rhythm in the second half, shooting 53.6 percent (15-of-28) to get the overall percentage for the game up to 41.5 percent.
• Guard Connor Dubsky scored a career-high nine points while hitting three 3-point shots in the second half.
• Forward David Green had a team-high 16 points and was the lone Rhody player in double digits.
• Guard Jaden House had nine points and three rebounds. He was playing in his hometown of Richmond, Va. for the first time in his collegiate career.
• Guard Zek Montgomery had eight points and three rebounds.
• Guard Always Wright had three points and four assists.
• Center Jeremy Foumena had six points and two rebounds.
• VCU had a 15-5 edge in points off turnovers and an 18-9 edge in second-chance points.

What’s Next
Rhode Island returns home to host Saint Louis Saturday CBS Sports Network. Game time is 4:05 p.m.