Rhode Island Starters
Thomas, Lawrence, Farrell, Green, Brown

Temple Starters
Settle, Greer III, Durodola, Mashburn, Jr., Tobiason

How it Happened 
Sebastian Thomas made another huge play with the game on the line to lift Rhode Island to an 85-79 win over Temple at the Hall of Fame Classic Saturday night.

With the score tied at 79-79 with 20 seconds to go, Thomas took a kickout pass from David Green and knocked down a long 3-pointer. He also was fouled on the play and converted the free throw. After a defensive stop, Thomas was fouled again and iced the game by making two more free throws to make it a six-point game with 10 seconds to go.

It was a tight game throughout. Rhode Island (11-1) led by 16 points in the second half, but Temple (7-5) came all the way back and took a 72-71 lead on a Jamal Mashburn, Jr. jumper with 5:36 to go.

From there, the lead changed hands three times and there were four ties. In the end, it was Thomas scoring 10 points over the final 5:26 that lifted Rhody to a victory in its regular season non-conference finale.

Inside the Box Score Box

• Point guard Sebastian Thomas was named the MVP of the Hall of Fame Classic game.
• After missing URI's last game, Thomas recorded his second double-double of the season, scoring 20 points to go with 10 assists and four rebounds.
• Thomas was 9-for-9 at the free throw line, where Rhody was 19-of-22 as a team.
• Center Javonte Brown dominated the paint. He had his first double-double of the season by matching his career high with 21 points and setting a season-high with 10 rebounds.
• Brown was 9-for-11 from the field and had four dunks.
• Forward David Green had 17 points and five rebounds while making 3-of-6 from the perimeter.
• Forwards David Fuchs and Tyonne Farrell each scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds.
• Guard Jaden House had four points, none bigger than a driving layup that tied the game at 77-77 with 2:59 to go.
• Rhode Island shot .618 at a team (21-of-34) on two-point field goals, taking advantage of its size advantage.
• Rhode Island had a 36-29 edge on the boards.

Up Next
Rhode Island begins Atlantic 10 play when it visits Duquesne on New Year's Eve. Game time is 2 p.m. on ESPN+.