Rhode Island Starters
Montgomery, Kortright, House, Wright, Bilau
 
College of Charleston Starters
Policelli, Brzovic, Rodgers, Fulton, Burnham
 
How it Happened
A white-hot offensive effort by the College of Charleston allowed the hosts to pull away from Rhode Island Sunday, as the Cougars handed URI a 85-70 defeat.

The Cougars (5-4) hit 11 of their first 16 shots in the second half. A trio of 3-pointers by Jordan Crawford helped turn what had been a three-point game at the half into a double-digit lead. Rhode Island (5-5) was not able to threaten the lead late after the early shooting by the hosts.
 
An evenly played first half featured seven lead changes and two ties. While College of Charleston got 13 points from Ben Burham to help create a 37-34 lead at the break, Rhode Island had a balanced effort. Zek Montgomery had nine points, Jaden House added eight and Always Wright had seven points in the first 20 minutes.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island was without forward David Fuchs (concussion protocol) and guard Brandon Weston (personal).
• With Fuchs out, the Rams had just their second different starting lineup of the season. Zek Montgomery, Luis Kortright, Jaden House, Always Wright and Josaphat Bilau got the nod.
• It was the first career start for Wright, who responded with a career-high nine points to go with six assists.
• Jaden House scored 12 points.
• Cam Estevez scored a team-high 13 points and hit three 3-pointers.
• Jeremy Foumena had eight points and five rebounds off the bench.
• Connor Dubsky had six points and was 2-for-3 from long range.
• College of Charleston had a 38-31 edge on the boards.

What's Next
Rhode Island travels to Elmont, N.Y. for the Holiday Hoopfest against Delaware at UBS Arena. Game time is 4:30 p.m. The game is part of a tripleheader that also features Saint Joseph's against Iona and Towson against Bryant.