RHODE ISLAND (11-5, 3-1 Atlantic 10)
Starters: Harris, Russell, Martin, Langevine, Toppin
Subs: Walker, Long, Dadika

SAINT JOSEPH'S (3-14, 0-5 Atlantic 10)
Starters: Daly, Brown, Longpre, Edwards, Ashley 
Subs: Freeman, Douglas, Knox, Moore, Smith

How it Happened
An undermanned Rhode Island squad battled back from a 10-point second-half deficit to knock off Saint Joseph's, 71-61, Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

The trio of Fatts Russell, Cyril Langevine and Tyrese Martin combined for 54 points as the Rams won despite playing without Jeff Dowtin. Russell - who scored the 1000th point of his career late in the game - recorded 23 of his 25 points in the second half to spark Rhode Island to its third straight victory.

St. Joe's took a six-point lead into halftime, thanks to an 11-1 run over the final 4:14 of the first period. The momentum continued early in the second half, as the Hawks built a 47-37  lead after a 3-pointer by Anthony Longpre at the 17:00 mark.

The Ram defense clamped down as Rhode Island chipped away at the lead. Rhody held Saint Joseph's scoreless for a stretch of 7:21, and a Russell 3-pointer tied the score at 53-53 with 9:39 to go. The Rams then took the lead on a thunderous put-back dunk by Mekhi Long, followed by a fastbreak layup from Russell to go up 57-53 lead with 8:26 remaining.

Rhode Island never let the Hawks back in the game, steadily taking control down the stretch to win its second consecutive A-10 road game.

Inside the Box Score

• Junior Fatts Russell became the 56th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. He reached the milestone on a 3-pointer with 2:06 remianing.
• Russell now has five 25-point performances this season.
• Junior Tyrese Martin had 15 points and seven rebounds, continuing his strong play.
• Senior Cyril Langevine double-doubled, finishing with 14 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot.
• It was the fourth double-double of the year for Langevine. Of his 15 rebounds, nine came on the offensive glass.
• Redshirt sophomore Antwan Walker had seven points, seven rebounds, one block and one steal off the bench.
• Freshman Mekhi Long brought energy in a career-high 23 minutes off the bench. He finished the game with four points, two rebounds and two blocked shots and was a +15 for the game.
• Rhode Island limited Saint Joseph's to 17.2 percent (5-of-29) shooting from 3-point range.
• The Rams have now held four straight Atlantic 10 opponents to 61 points or less.
• Rhode Island played without senior Jeff Dowtin, who suspended one game by the NCAA for playing in an unsanctioned charity game over the summer. The team was notified of the suspension roughly 90 minutes before the opening tip.

Up Next
Rhode Island returns home Saturday, Jan. 18 to host La Salle. Game time for the NBCSN broadcast will be 12:34 p.m.