Rams run wild on Brown
URI warms up for Friars’ visit with blowout of Brown
URI basketball takes win against Ivy leaguers
KINGSTON — The gulf in talent between Rhode Island and Brown rarely seems to matter.
The Rams always have to fight their way past the gritty Bears, even when they are clearly the superior team.
That trend ended on Tuesday night, when the Rams entered as 20-point favorites and played like it, collecting a comfortable 86-62 win.
“Good bounceback for us,” URI coach Dan Hurley said. “Real sour, real salty about how we played the last 15 minutes of the game [against Virginia] in Brooklyn, especially defensively. We put a lot of focus on that end of the court the last couple of days and I thought it showed.”
“Brown is always tricky for us,” he added. “They’re always ready to play against us. We have games coming up ahead that there’s a lot to gain from winning. A misstep today would’ve been bad.”
Brown was held to 33 percent shooting overall, and committed 20 turnovers, a marked improvement for a Ram defense that has been uncharactersictly poor to start the season.
The guards have been the lynchpin for URI’s success this season, and another element of that dangerous group emerged on Tuesday.
Freshman Fatts Russell had shown off his talent in sporadically through the first five games, but against the Bears the diminutive point guard showed that he’s fully up to speed.
He put on an offensive clinic in the final few minutes of the first half, scoring 11 of URI’s points during a 15-7 half-ending run. He hit a trio of 3-pointers that included a deep, banked shot right before the buzzer.
“Fatts is a dynamic offensive player,” Hurley said. “He can score in bunches and create havoc on the defensive end with his speed. Once the senior group goes out the door, I think we’ll be in good hands with Fatts and Jeff [Dowtin].”
“When I come off the bench, I just try to be a spark to these guys,” said Russell. “Whatever I can do, deflections, get a stop, anything. That’s my main focus when I get into the game, try and change the game.”
Russell hadn’t scored in double digits before putting up a career-best 20 points on Tuesday. His four assists matched his performance in the opener against UNC Asheville, and his five made 3-pointers are the most by an Ram this season.
The Rams had opened with a 14-4 run, and never led by less than nine from that point on.
They built their 18-point lead at the break despite a flurry of frontcourt fouls. Every member of the regular bigman rotation picked up two fouls in the first half.
First, it was Berry who earned two fouls in under four minutes. Ryan Preston replaced him, but quickly rejoined Berry right back on the bench with a pair of his own infractions, as did Nikola Akele.
Cyril Langevine made his return to the hardcourt after missing three games with a groin injury, but foul trouble descended upon him as well. Working around two fouls and his lingering injury, Langevine hustled his way to a chasedown block on a fastbreak, ending the game with seven points, two rebounds and an assist.
“It was good to see Cyril out there,” Hurley said. “He had a minute limitation today. Get him some live action before we embark on these next five. He gave us some rim protection today.”
As scattered and ineffective the frontcourt may have been, the Rams’ backcourt continued to wear opposing teams down with their depth and experience. Even with newcomer Russell snatching away the spotlight, Jared Terrell still put in a workmanlike 16 points on 11 shots.
Each win this season has typically featured a big offen- sive night from two or three of URI’s guards. Their fifth win had Russell and Terrell doing the bulk of the scoring, with Jeff Dowtin breaking a minishooting slump to round things out. Dowtin had 14 points on 7-11 shooting, all on 2-point attempts.
“Our guard depth showed,” Hurley said. “Number of guys had pretty good offensive days.”
Russell finished off the efficient offensive effort by hitting a deep 3-pointer as he fell to the court in the waning moments of the game. URI came in shooting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc, and increased that mark by hitting 63.6 percent of their attempts Tuesday.
The win was as relaxing a tuneup as the Rams could have hoped for in advance of their annual showdown with Providence College Saturday. State bragging rights will be on the line, with the Rams looking to snap a seven-game skid in their most heated rivalry.
“It’s an important game,” Hurley said. “Huge for the fans, they lose their minds over it. The reality of it is, it’s an important game for both of us because of what it represents for the winner.”