Rhode Island Starters
Samb, Freeman, Carey, Leggett, Martin

La Salle Starters
Marrero, H. Drame, Brantley, K. Brantley, F. Drame

How It Happened
A small lineup spurred a second-half rally for Rhode Island as the Rams knocked off La Salle 72-70 Saturday afternoon.

Playing a lineup that featured Malik Martin at the five, Rhode Island (8-13, 4-5 Atlantic 10) came back from down 14 points to pull out the win. It was the largest deficit the Rams have come back from this season.

The group of Martin, Ishmael Leggett, Jalen Carey, Sebastian Thomas and Brandon Weston played the final 6:54 of the game. At that point, Rhode Island trailed 62-55. But the group made hustle plays down the stretch, fighting for loose balls and clawing their way back into the game.

Leggett hit a jumper with 1:37 remaining to put the Rhody in front, 67-66. Thomas followed with a second-chance layup that extended the lead to three, and a pair of Carey free throws made it 71-65 with 43 seconds left.

La Salle (8-13, 2-6 A-10) got a layup from Fousseyni Drame and two free throws from Jhamir Brickus to pull back within one point with 23 seconds to go, but Carey hit another free throw for a 72-70 lead with 14 seconds remaining. La Salle's Khalil Brantley missed a jumper, and Martin grabbed the rebound to help secure the win.  

Inside the Box Score

• Sophomore Ishmael Leggett led the team in scoring with 20 points. It was his fifth 20-point performance of the season.
• He was also a perfect 3-for-3 from the line and 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
• Leggett added six rebounds and four assists while recording a team-high plus-11 in 37 minutes.
• Redshirt junior Jalen Carey added on 18 points and six rebounds.
• Redshirt senior guard Malik Martin led the team with seven rebounds, to go along with his 10 points.
• Sophomore guard Sebastian Thomas had six points, six rebounds and three assists.
• The Rams outrebounded the Explorers 41-35.
• La Salle's Josh Nickleberry led the Explorers with 16 points going 4-for-6 from the arc.
• After the Explorers were 9-of-17 from long range in the first half, URI held them to 2-of-10 from deep after the break.
• Rhode Island had a 32-22 edge in points in the paint.
• For the second time this season, Rhode Island has won back-to-back games.
• After shooting 36.4 percent (12-33) in the first half, Rhode Island shot 53.6 percent (15-28) in the second.

What's Next
Rhode Island starts a three-game road swing with a game at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Game time is 7 p.m. on ESPN+.