By Jake Brown and Rachel Zingerman
GoRhody.com Staff

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

Fordham Starters
Quinsenberry, Rose, Charlton, Moore, Tsimbila

How it Happened
A one-two punch of Malik Martin and Ishmael Leggett propelled Rhode Island to its first conference win, as URI held off Fordham, 82-79, Wednesday night. The duo combined for 40 points in the victory. 

Rhody (5-9, 1-1 Atlantic 10) opened the game with a 21-6 run, sparked by the shooting of Martin. After Leggett hit a 3-pointer for URI's first basket, Martin scored eight straight points for Rhode Island. An and-one layup from Brandon Weston capped a 10-0 run that established the 21-6 lead. 

The back end of the half was a different story. Fordham (12-3, 0-2 A-10) used its size on the inside to back down defenders, which helped the visiting Rams get a 10-0 run of their own, cutting into Rhode Island's sizable lead to make it a single digit game, 25-17 with 7:28 left to go in the half. With URI in foul trouble late in the half, Fordham was able to use the bonus to knock down free throws, making it a one possession game late in the half. However, Rhody's defense limited Fordham to two points over the final four minutes of the half, and Leggett hit a pair of free throws to send URI into the locker room with a 36-30 lead.

After another hot start by Martin (three 3-pointers in the opening five minutes of the second half), Rhody led by as many as 17 points. Fordham rallied behind the play of Darius Quisenberry (33 points). The guests chipped away and get the lead down to two points in the final minute. A free throw by Antrell Carlton got Fordham within 78-76 with 56 seconds to go, but Freeman hit a wild layup that was preceded by three spins in the lane, pushing the lead back to 80-76. A Freeman free throw 12 seconds later made it a five-point game, and Charlton hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to make it a one-possession affair.

Jalen Carey made 1-of-2 at the line, and Rhody prevented any last shot attempt by Fordham, securing the league win. 

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island beats Fordham for their first league win of the season. Archie Miller is now 9-0 in his career versus the Rams.
  Rhode Island led the game for more than 39 minutes and never trailed throughout.
• Redshirt senior Malik Martin had a career game, finishing with a personal-best 23 points. He made a career-best five 3-point shots on nine attempts. 
• Martin is now 12 points away from reaching 1,000 career points.
• Sophomore Brayon Freeman had 12 points and matched his career high of eight assists. This is also his fourth time in his career getting eight assists. 
• Freeman has now scored in the double digits in 11 straight games.
• Sophomore Ishmael Leggett had 17 points, and he has scored in double digits in 13 out of 14 games this season. 
• Leggett leads the team with 221 total points. 
• Rhode Island led Fordham by 18 points in the first half, which was the largest lead thus far this season. 
• Sophomore Sebastian Thomas had a career-high seven rebounds to go with seven points. 
• Redshirt freshman Abdou Samb scored nine points, had 3 rebounds, and went 3-for-3 on the free throw line. 
• Redshirt sophomore Alex Tchikou added eight points off the bench as URI posted its season high with 82 points.