Rhode Island Starters
Cochran, Corey, Crawford, Hinton, Itejere
 
Providence Starters
Sellers, Vaaks, Mela, Floyd, Jr. Erhunmwunse
 
How it Happened
Providence was able to wear Rhode Island down and pull away down the stretch, defeating the Rams 90-71 Saturday afternoon.

The Rams (7-3) led 53-52 following a Drissa Traore 3-pointer five minutes into the second half. From there, the Friars (6-4) scored 38 points over the final 15 minutes, steadily extending their lead along the way.  

Jamier Jones and Stefan Vaaks each scored 18 points and Providence (6-4) had five players in double figures. As the second half wore on, the Friars did damage inside, scoring 20 points in the paint.

Rhode Island opened the game with an 14-2 run, hitting four of its first five 3-point attempts. Jonah Hinton connected twice while Alex Crawford and Tyler Cochran each had one in the run. Providence responded with a 12-0 run - all on 3-pointers by Stefan Vaaks - to quickly tie the game at 14-14. That started a run of 7-of-8 made field goals by the Friars, who pushed their lead to as many as nine at 28-19.

A 13-2 Rhody run that included 3-pointers by Damone King, Alex Crawford 3 and Jonah Hinton helped URI cut the deficit to four points at 41-37 by the break.

The Rams opened the second half strong, and a Drissa Traore 3-pointer gave team a 53-52 lead. From there, a PC 13-0 run over the next six minutes put the host Friars in control. Jones and Oswin Erhunmwunse  each had five points during the run, and Rhode Island was never able to recover.

Inside the Box Score

• Providence scored 23 points off of 17 Rhode Island turnovers. URI was only able to score 10 points off 15 Friar turnovers.
• Both teams were 14-of-29 from 3-point range.
• Providence was 17-for-25 inside the arc, while URI was 11-for-27.
• The Friars had a 35-20 edge in points in bench scoring and a 32-20 scoring advantage in the paint.
• Jonah Hinton led Rhode Island with 23 points while shooting 7-for-14 from 3-point range.
• Hinton joined Tyson Wheeler and Jimmy Baron as the only Rhode Island players to make seven or more 3-pointers in a game twice. Baron did it three times.
• It was Hinton's third game this season with at least five 3-pointers. He did so one time with St. Bonaventure last year.
• Myles Corey had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.
• Jahmere Tripp was the third Ram in double figures, adding 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
• Drissa Traore gave the team five points and a steal in 11 minutes off the bench.

Up Next
Rhode Island returns home to host McNeese on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The defending Southland champions reached the second round of the NCAA Championship last season. Tuesday's game is a 7 p.m. tip on ESPN+.