Rhode Island Starters
Montgomery, Kortright, House, Brown, Fuchs

Northwestern Starters
Buie, Berry, Langborg, Barnhizer, Nicholson

How it Happened
An early 20-point deficit proved too much to overcome as Rhode Island fell 72-61 to Northwestern in the opening round of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic Saturday.

The Rams (3-1) opened the game hitting just 1-of-18 from the field – including 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. This allowed Northwestern to establish a 22-2 lead midway through the first half. Luis Kortright hit a layup with 7:39 left in the half to start a 9-0 run that included five points from Zek Montgomery to kickstart the Rams. URI hit seven of its final nine field goal attempts and ended the half on a 24-11 run to pull within seven by the break.

Despite moments of solid play, Rhode Island could only briefly get the lead down to single digits in the second half. Jeremy Foumena banked a 3-point shot from the top of the key with 9:22 to go to make the score 57-48. The Rams were held scoreless for the next 4:22 as Northwestern was able to get its lead back to 13 and keep URI at bay down the stretch.

Inside the Box Score

• Junior Zek Montgomery finished with 18 points, three rebounds and two assists.
• Montgomery has scored in double digits in all four games this season.
• He was 6-for-7 at the free throw line.
• Sophomore Cam Estevez scored a career-high 15 points while hitting three 3-point shots.
• After missing its first seven 3-point attempts, Rhode Island connected on eight of its final 12 from long range.
• After starting the game 1-for-18 from the floor, the Rams shot 58 percent (18-for-31) the rest of the way.
• Junior Jaden House was limited to six points but did match his career high with seven rebounds..

Up Next
Rhode Island will play Washington State in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic third-place game Sunday at 3:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPNU.