Rhode Island Starters
Cochran, Corey, Crawford, Hinton, Itejere
Davidson Starters
Coval, Scovens, Friedrichsen, Brown, Platteeuw
How it Happened
An explosive offensive first half and a dominant defensive effort paved the way for Rhode Island (10-7, 1-3 Atlantic 10) to throttle Davidson 70-45 Saturday afternoon.

The 45 points was the lowest total allowed by the Rams this season.
 
Rhode Island was blistering hot from the field throughout the first half. The Rams shot 70.8 percent (17-of-24), easily the team's best offensive half of the season. All five starters scored in the first five minutes of play as Rhody made its first seven field goal attempts. URI led 14-7 by the first timeout. Rhody kept the pressure on, getting its lead to as many as nine following a Jonah Hinton 3-pointer that made the score 21-12. Davidson used a 7-0 run to get it back to a one-possession game at 21-19, but URI responded.

Over the next 5:22, Rhode Island held Davidson Davidson (10-6, 2-2 A-10) scoreless while going on a 9-0 run. The lead eventually grew to as many as 18 points after a Tyler Cochran 3-pointer made the score 39-21. The Rams eventually took a 16-point advantage into the break.

Both sides struggled offensively for most of the second half, but Rhode Island began to heat up. RJ Johnson connected with Keeyan Itejere on back-to-back lob passes for baskets. That pushed URI's lead to 59-32 with 5:13 to go. With the end result locked up, the Rams continued to extend its lead. Tyler Cochran hit a runner and added a free throw to make it a 30-point lead at 62-32. Rhode Island cruised down the stretch and picked up its first conference win of the season.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island finished the game shooting 58.3 percent from the field. The 70.8 percent in the opening half was the best half of the season.
• Keeyan Itejere scored a season-high 18 points to go with six rebounds.
• He shot 9-for-11 from the field.
• Jonah Hinton had 14 points and was 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
• RJ Johnson ran the offense. He had a season-high seven assists in 30 minutes off the bench.
• Tyler Cochran and Alex Crawford had 11 points each.
• Crawford added a team-high eight rebounds.
• Jahmere Tripp chipped in 10 points and was 6-for-6 at the line.
• Jalen Harper had two points, two blocks and a rebound in 15 solid minutes.
• The Rams turned the ball over just 10 times.

Up Next
Rhode Island is back in the Ryan Center to host VCU on Wednesday, Jan. 14. The game tips off at 6:05 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and the Varsity Network.