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

Yale Starters
Wolf, Mbeng, Mahoney, Poulakidas, Townsend

How it Happened
Rhode Island rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Yale 76-72 for an impressive victory Sunday afternoon.

The Rams (5-2) trailed 39-21 following an August Mahoney layup with 5:25 remaining in the first half. A pair of Brandon Weston 3-pointers sandwiched around a Luis Kortright layup gave URI eight points in a span of 70 seconds as Rhody managed to get the deficit down to 12 points by the break.

Offensive rebounding and a stout defensive effort sparked Rhode Island early in the second half. URI's first four baskets of the period came on second-chance opportunities, helping the Rams pull within four points at 46-42 five minutes in to the half. The Rams finally took the lead when Kortright hit a 3-pointer just before the 8:00 mark to put URI up, 59-57. He then got the defensive rebound on the ensuing Yale possession and hit a driving layup to extend the lead to four points.

Though Yale (4-3) managed to tie the score twice, Rhode Island never trailed. Playing a tight game down the stretch for the first time, the Rams responded. Jaden House hit a layup with 2:34 to go to put the team up for the final time, and Zek Montgomery turned a Tyson Brown block into a layup at the other end for a 74-70 lead. Yale's Bez Mbeng scored on a fastbreak off a turnover, but House came up with an offensive rebound and was sent to the line for a 1-and-1 with 25 seconds left. He made both to make it a two-possession game. With Yale trying to claw back, Josaphat Bilau blocked a corner 3-point attempt by Mbeng to seal the win.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island improved to 5-0 at home.
• Forward Tyson Brown scored a career-high 10 points and had two blocks and one steal on the defensive end.
• Guard Zek Montgomery just missed a double-double, recording 14 points and nine rebounds.
• Guard Luis Kortright had a team-high 15 points to go with five rebounds and four assists.
• Kortright scored 12 of his 15 in the second half.
• Forward Josaphat Bilau gave the Rams a big boost off the bench. In 15 minutes, he had two points, five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. He was team-high plus-13.
• Rhode Island had a 23-3 edge in second-chance points.
• URI's bench outscored Yale's bench, 23-10.
• Guards Brandon Weston and Cam Estevez each scored eight off the bench. Weston added three boards and three assists.
• The Rams had just two turnovers in the second half.
• After Yale shot 58.1 percent in the opening half, URI held the Bulldogs to 39.3 percent after the break.

Up Next
Rhode Island plays at in-state rival Providence on Saturday, Dec. 2. Game time is 7:30 p.m. on FS1.