Home cookin’
The URI men’s basketball team remains unbeaten at home (5-0) after taking care of the College of Charleston Saturday, 68-62.
KINGSTON — Nothing came easy for Rhode Island on Saturday against the College of Charleston at the Ryan Center.
The Rams trailed for most of the first half due to a frontcourt mismatch, and found themselves trailing for most of the second as Cougar guard Grant Riller exploded for 21 points.
“Thinking about the game all week, it was almost the exact game we expected from that team,” head coach Dan Hurley said. “That’s a real good team. Great win for us. That’s a high-level team that’s going to win a ton of games. Their guards are outstanding and the bigs are tough and physical. Loved the way we played in the last few minutes of that game.”
If the Rams are anything, they’re resilient. They continually absorbed the best blows from CAA-favorite Charleston, and came out on top, 6862, by hitting nine free throws in the final two minutes. Cyril Langevine - a career 47.5 percent shooter from the stripe - was a 6-for-6 in the final six minutes, finally looking fully recovered from his earlier groin injury.
Langevine played 17 of the final 20 minutes, shutting down Nick Harris, who torched Andre Berry and the Ram defense for 12 points in eight first-half minutes in the first half. Foul trouble saved URI in the first 20 minutes when Harris was forced to the bench with two personals, and a resurgent Langevine came to the rescue down the stretch.
“I felt 100 percent,” Langevine said. “The 10 days that we were off helped me a lot. I feel better.”
E.C. Matthews made his return to the court as well on Saturday, checking in off the bench at the 13:36 mark of the first half. Playing against a Cougar team stacked with guards, Matthews hyped return ended with four points on 1-for-5 shooting.
“We’ve played without them,” Hurley said of the pair. “It was a terrible opponent for E.C. to return against. The way they defend. We’ve played without both those guys.
“The rim-protection, [Langevine] flashed some of that today. The tenacious rebounding. That athletic presence around the basket and the interior is something that we’ve been sorely missing. Hasn’t been his fault, he’s just been debilitated with an injury.”
Langevine finished with his second career double-double, on 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Rams trailed 60-59 with 2:26 remaining, but Langevine played like a man possessed in the final moments.
First he hit two free throws - aided on one by a Cougar lane violation - to put the Rams back up a point. Then, a chasedown block on Joe Chealey preserved that lead. Langevine went to the line again on the ensuing Ram possession, hitting two more free throws.
Jared Terrell handled the rest to seal the win. Three free throws and a steal and score helped stave off the Cougars, continuing a recent trend of URI earning their living by dominating in crucial moments.
“It’s our experience,” Terrell said of the clutch play. “It’s getting into the Tournament, getting over that hump. Winning those close games that we would’ve lost my sophomore year, has helped us a lot.
“We’re a lot more confident, a lot more poised. Especially Jeff [Dowtin].”
Terrell finished the game tied with Riller for the lead in points at 21, including a 7-for-8 mark from the line. Dowtin, who’s been up and down so far this season, added six points and three assists. It was Dowtin’s defensive contributions that were highlighted postgame by Hurley.
“We were hoping we could stop both of them,” Hurley said of Chealey and Riller. “Those guys are really good. Jeff’s length - Chealey isn’t usually guarded by a point guard with that kind of length. That bothered Chealey a lot. Jeff is a really smart player.”
Chealey came into the game averaging a team-high 19 points, but was a non-factor at the Ryan Center on Saturday. He had just two points at the break, and finished by scoring an inefficient 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field.
As ineffective as Chealey was, Riller was equally as dominant. The sophomore guard willed his team back into the game after jumpers by Dowtin and Terrell reclaimed the lead for URI. Riller used his speed to get into the paint in the first half, setting up a 3-pointer in the second half that drew the Cougars back within a possession.
“[Riller] was explosive,” Hurley said. “He took some advantage of some bad ballscreen defense at times. We gave him those easy layups early on, got him going and the basket just looked really big for him.”
Do-it-all guard/forward Stan Robinson also played a big role in the gritty win. Robinson recorded his first career double-double on Saturday, managing 10 points and 10 rebounds. Despite being a 6-foot-4 natural guard, he’s often tasked with covering players with five-plus inches on him, and doing the dirty work on the glass and on defense.
“We have great guards, so there’s not a lot of shots to go around,” Robinson said. “Why not do something else? I can help my team. Cyril needs help on the backboard, I’m here to help wherever I can.”
“We have so many great guards - we have six now that E.C. is back - that I have to get these guys on the court,” Hurley followed up. “There would be a revolt if I didn’t get all six out there.
“The thing we talked about with Stan before the season is playing like a Marcus Smart type of role. The Celtics have used Marcus Smart at the four a lot. [Stan] has embraced that. He’s such a valuable player, to me he’s been our MVP - no offense to these other guys.”