Rhode Island Starters
Sheppard, Betrand, Walker, Leggett, Makhel Mitchell
 
Massachusetts Starters
Garcia, Gasperini, Pierre, DeGray III, Weeks
 
How it Happened
Despite a career night from redshirt junior Antwan Walker, Rhode Island (9-11, 6-7 Atlantic 10) went cold down the stretch as it lost its third straight game, falling to Massachusetts, 75-63, Saturday night.

Walker had a game-high 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting. However, the Rams missed their final six shots and did not make a field goal over the final 5:12. Rhody went ahead 47-43 following a Fatts Russell layup with 14:25 to go. From there, it was all Massachusetts (7-4, 6-2 A-10), as the Minutemen outscored the Rams by 18 points the rest of the way.

UMass was led by the veteran presence of Carl Pierre, who finished with 19 points and was 5-of-10 from long range. Backup center Mark Gasperini – filling in for Tre Mitchell – scored 11 points, 10 of which came in the second half.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
Inside the Box Score

• Redshirt junior Antwan Walker had his third double-double, setting career highs with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
• Sophomore Makhel Mitchell added 13 points and five blocks shots.
• The frontcourt duo was a big reason the Rams scored 50 points in the paint.
• Rhode Island was 0-for-10 from 3-point range. It was the first time since Nov. 27, 2011 against Cleveland State the team has not made a 3-point shot.
• Senior Fatts Russell had nine points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals coming off the bench.
• He tied Tyson Wheeler for second place in program history with 205 career steals. Wheeler was in the building as an assistant coach for Massachusetts.
• Freshman Ishmael Leggett had eight points, three rebounds and three assists. All eight of his points came in the first half.

Up Next
Rhode Island travels to Saint Louis Wednesday, Feb. 10. The game will air on CBSSN at 9 p.m. EST.