Rhode Island Starters
Fontenet, Hinton, Harper, Raupelis, Deniusas

Massachusetts Starters
Wimbley, Jr., Clayton, Wang, Clerc, Castineyra

AMHERST, Mass. - Massachusetts defeated Rhode Island 81-68 in the first exhibition game of the year for both sides. Big man Cheick Sylla had 14 points and 18 rebounds for the Minutemen.

The former longtime Atlantic 10 rivals spent the day together, as coaches Archie Miller and Frank Martin held a joint practice Sunday morning before the exhibition game.

UMass jumped out to a big lead at the start of both halves, which ultimately was the difference in the final result. It led by as many as 10 points in the first half, thanks to a hot offensive start. The Minutemen made eight of their first 11 field goal attempts.

The Rhody defense tightened up and limited UMass to 6-for-20 for the rest of the half, including just 1-for-10 to close out the period. This allowed the Rams to cut the deficit to one point at halftime.

However, a 13-3 run to start the second half put UMass in front 51-40. The lead stayed in double digits for the majority of the second half. Rhode Island was able to get as close to seven following a pair of Barrett Loer 3-pointers that made the score 53-46 with 12:41 to go, but that was as close as the score got.

Inside the Box Score

• Jason Fontenet II showed the versatility in his game. The UC Santa Barbara transfer had 18 points, six rebounds and three assists.
• In the second half, he had a personal 8-0 run, during which he hit a hoop-and-harm three-point play, had a fastbreak dunk and then hit a 3-pointer in a span of 46 seconds.
• Jahmere Tripp had 13 points and four boards.
• Barrett Loer was the third Ram in double digits, scoring 11 points while shooting 3-of-6 from long range.
• As a team, the Rams had 15 assists with just 11 turnovers.
• Jaen Chatman had six points and five assists.
• Jonah Hinton had a team-high eight rebounds.

Up Next
Rhode Island hosts Southern New Hampshire in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 27.