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

Providence Starters
Gaines, Pierre, Oduro, Carter, Hopkins

How it Happened
The return of Jayden Pierre and Bryce Hopkins had a strong second half sparked Providence as it handed Rhode Island an 84-69 loss Saturday night.

Rhody (5-3) tied the game on a Zek Montgomery basket with 17:52 to go. From there, the host Friars (7-1) steadily pulled away. Pierre scored seven straight points for PC to turn a 60-54 lead into a 67-56 advantage. After he sparked the team, Hopkins took over. He had 19 of his 24 points in the second half.

Rhode Island shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the second half, but the Friars were a little better, hitting on 58.1 percent. As a result, Providence outscored the Rams by 12 in the second half for its third straight win in the series.

Inside the Box Score

• Guard Jaden House got on track offensively, scoring 18 for Rhode Island. He was 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
• The Rams had four players in double digits, as guard Luis Kortright (11), forward David Fuchs (11) and guard Zek Montgomery (10) provided the balance.
• Kortright added four assists, while Fuchs had six rebounds.
• Forward Josaphat Bilau provided a solid all-around game, scoring seven points, grabbing nine rebounds and recording a steal.
• Rhode Island was 6-for-12 from 3-point range against a very strong Providence defense.
• The Rams also had just 11 turnovers on the night.
• Providence had a 17-0 edge in fastbreak points.

What's Next
Rhode Island keeps it local when it welcomes in-state rival Brown to the Ryan Center on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Game time is 7:02 p.m. on ESPN+.