Box Score RHODE ISLAND (21-9, 13-5 A-10)
Starters: Harris, Russell, Martin, Langevine, Dowtin
Subs: Walker, Long, Toppin
MASSACHUSETTS (14-17, 8-10 A-10)
Starters: Santos, Diallo, East II, Pierre, T. Mitchell
Subs: Clergeot, K. Mitchell, Walker
How It Happened
Fatts Russell hit a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds seconds on the clock to lift Rhode Island to a 64-63 victory Saturday night.
The Rams held off a furious charge by UMass to finish the regular season with a victory. Rhody will head to Brooklyn as the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship next week.
Tyrese Martin helped Rhody establish an early lead, scoring eight points in the opening 4:40. Martin hit his first three field goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers as the Rams opened a 12-6 lead by the first media timeout.
Spurred by its defense, Rhode Island pushed the lead to as many as 17. While UMass went 10:01 without a field goal, URI moved ahead 29-12 after a Mekhi Long basket. A three-point play from Tre Mitchell stemmed the bleeding for UMass, and he scored 17 points before the break to keep his team close. Jeff Dowtin hit a drive with 5.9 seconds left in the half to give Rhody a 39-32 lead going into the break.
Massachusetts got as close as four points after a Dibaji Walker jumper made the score 42-38. Jeff Dowtin hit a floater and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to push the lead back to nine points at 47-38 for the Rams.
A Fatts Russell 3-pointer extended the lead to double digits at 52-40, and a Mekhi Long dunk made it a 14-point game with 12:56 to go. UMass did not go away, using a 9-1 spurt to make it 55-49 after a Mitchell 3-pointer with 8:11 remaining.
It got down to a four-point lead at 55-51, but Jacob Toppin hit a layup in traffic for URI. Mitchell's fifth 3-pointer of the night made it a one-point game, 57-56, with 3:18 to go. Another Mitchell 3-pointer gave UMass its first lead of the second half, 59-58, with 1:09 to go. Jeff Dowtin came down and hit a runner in the lane to put Rhode Island back in front, 60-59, with 44 seconds left.
Mitchell struck again, hitting a layup as UMass beat the URI pressure to go back up, 61-60. Fatts Russell hit a layup with 19 seconds to go to give URI the lead, but Mitchell hit two free throws with 8.9 seconds left to make it 63-62 UMass.
Russell was able to use a screen to get Mitchell on him. The speedy guard beat the big man into the lane and drew contact, earning the trip to the line. He calmly hit both to provide the winning margin in a wild finsih.
Inside the Box Score
- With the victory, Rhode Island won its seventh Atlantic 10 road game of the season. It is the third time in four years the Rams have been 7-2 in league road games.
- The win also was the 50th conference win over the last four seasons, matching the most in a four-year span in program history.
- Senior Cyril Langevine finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds before he fouled out.
- It was the 10th double-double of the season, and 33rd of his career. His final rebound was the 300th of the season for Langevine. He joined Art Stephenson and Gary Koenig as the only Rhode Island players to grab 300 in two different seasons.
- Sophomore Tyrese Martin had 10 points and seven rebounds. It was the 22nd time this season Martin has scored in double figures.
- Sophomore Jermaine Harris had seven points and two assists.
- Redshirt junior Antwan Walker had four points and five boards off the bench.
- Freshman Mekhi Long had six points, two steals and one rebound. He also gave strong defense in the paint before fouling out.
- Senior Jeff Dowtin had nine points and four assists.
- Junior Fatts Russell had 11 points, five assists and five rebounds.
- Freshman Jacob Toppin had four points and two rebounds.
- All eight players who saw the floor scored in the first half for Rhode Island. All eight also had at least four points.
- Rhode Island had 16 assists on 25 field goals. The URI bench outscored UMass, 14-7.
- Rhody also had the edge in points off turnovers (16-6) and points in the paint (38-14).
What's Next
The Rams head to the Atlantic 10 Championship at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Rhode Island will play in the quarterfinals at 8:30 p.m. against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.