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

Providence Starters
Cardet, Pierre, Joseph, Essandoko, Hopkins

How it Happened 
Rhode Island overcame a 10-point first-half deficit to win its ninth straight game and knock off in-state rival Providence Saturday afternoon.

After Rhody (9-0) scored the first four points of the game, Providence (6-4) took control with an 11-0 run. The Friars led for the remainder of the half, pulling ahead by as many as 10 points. A Jaden House 3-pointer helped the Rams get within 38-25 by break.

Coming out of the half, Sebastian Thomas got the Rams going. He hit a floater on the first possession, then added a turnaround jumper and a driving layup to spark a 7-3 run to get the Rams within three at 38-35.

Providence managed to get the lead back to eight at 46-38 after a Bryce Hopkins layup with 14 minutes to go. Thomas and David Fuchs set up a 7-0 Rhody run. Drissa Traore scored on a tip-in of a missed Fuchs free throw before Thomas drained a corner 3-pointer. Fuchs dunked an alley-oop pass from Thomas, then came up with a steal. His layup on the next possession closed the gap to 46-45.

With the Rams down 48-45, Thomas knocked down a 3-pointer to pull Rhody even. Moments later a Jamarques Lawrence turnaround jumper gave URI its first lead since the opening moments of the game, 50-49.

The teams traded baskets before a Thomas layup, two Jaden House free throws and a House drive keyed a 6-0 run to give Rhody a 60-55 lead. The Friars responded with back-to-back baskets, including a Hopkins dunk that trimmed the Ram lead to 60-59 with 3:29 to go.

A 7-2 spurt by Rhode Island that included two baskets from David Green and a long 3-pointer by Thomas pushed the lead back to 67-61 with 24 seconds to go. Rhody held on from their for its first win in the series since 2019.

Inside the Box Score Box

• Rhode Island is 9-0 for the seventh time in program history, and the first time since the 1947-48 season.
• Point guard Sebastian Thomas had 19 points, 17 of which came in the second half.
• He was 7-of-10 after halftime, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc.
• Guard Jaden House had 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. He carried the load offensively for URI in the first half with 14 points.
• Forward David Green was the third Ram in double digits, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
• Forward David Fuchs had one of the best games of his career, recording nine points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
• Rhode Island's bench outscored PC's bench, 29-12.
• A sellout crowd of 7,685 attended the game.

Up Next
Rhode Island plays its first true road game of the season when it plays at Brown on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Game time is 7 p.m. on ESPN+.