Rams bounce back with win
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — In a perfect world, at this point in the season, David Cox wouldn’t need to implore his team to get back to Rhode Island basketball.
That said, the Rams are pretty good at finding it when their head coach does have to ask.
Fresh off a 17-point loss to George Mason in their Atlantic 10 home opener, the Rams went back to their roots in running past St. Bonaventure 75-63 Wednesday night at the Ryan Center, evening their A-10 record at 2-2. It was a similar response to what the Rams delivered in November, when they followed a soul-searching loss to Stony Brook with a blowout of Brown.
“I thought that was a good win today. An outstanding team effort,” Cox said. “That was Rhode Island basketball right there.”
Much of what went wrong against George Mason was rectified, particularly in the opening half. The defense that let the Patriots shoot 52 percent from the field held the Bonnies to six field goals in the first 20 minutes. URI’s 3-for-25 performance from 3-point range gave way to a solid showing, with points in the paint replacing longrange bombs and deep shots that were taken going in at a higher clip.
The Bonnies made more headway in the second half, but URI’s lead never fell under six.
“We defended at an elite level in the first half, holding them to 20 points and six made field goals,” Cox said. “That was the difference in the game because there was a lot of leakage in the second half. We’ve got to fix that come tomorrow. But the first half focus, the execution of the game plan defensively, was outstanding. That’s what I’ve been asking of these guys the last couple of days and I’m glad they responded in the correct manner.”
St. Bonaventure took a 12-4 lead with 14:35 remaining in the first half but made only two more field goals before the break. URI capitalized, slowly at first and then all at once. The Rams took their first lead on a Cyril Langevine layup with 7:27 left. After the Bonnies regained the advantage at 18-16, the Rams ended the half on an 18-2 run. Tyrese Martin triggered it with seven straight points and Jeff Dowtin closed it with a dunk off a Fatts Russell steal in the final seconds. St. Bonaventure’s 20 first-half points were the fewest by a URI opponent all season.
“What you saw the other day against George Mason, that’s not us,” Cox said. “We got back to the basics over the last couple of days. We brought back some drills that they probably haven’t seen in a couple of months. I thought that was important, just to get back to the basics - guarding the basketball, ball-screen coverages, how to defend in the post, all those things.”
The Bonnies made more field goals in the first six minutes of the second half than they did in the entirety of the first half. URI kept them at bay with answers in key spots - a 3-pointer by Dana Tate when it was a 41-35 game, five straight points after the Bonnies had cut an 11-point lead back to seven, a pull-up jumper by Fatts Russell and a Martin putback dunk that bumped an eight-point lead out to 12.
One response provided an accidental highlight. Tate scooped up a loose ball with the shot clock at two seconds, seemed not to realize the clock was running down until the crowd and bench started screaming, then fired up a turnaround 3-pointer that went in.
The Rams handled themselves well to salt away the win, making 12 of 14 free throws in the final three minutes.
Russell and Martin scored 18 points each, leading all scorers. Russell added five assists and four steals. Martin has now made two career starts and scored 18 points in both. He had previously subbed in for an injured Russell in the A-10 opener against St. Louis before drawing the start Tuesday in place of Christion Thompson, who has been scuffling.
“Honestly, I don’t feel like it changes at all,” Martin said of his mindset when starting versus coming off the bench. “I just know I’m going to go out there and give what I’ve been giving the last couple of games - defense and shooting the ball when I get open shots.”
Martin has reached double figures in four straight games.
“That was big time,” Cox said. “I think we all saw that against St. Louis in his first start. He’s a very evenkeeled young man and I think that helps him out on the floor. He’s very mature - he has a mature body, a mature game. And I think you’re just seeing the beginning of what he has to offer.”
Langevine added 14 points and eight rebounds. Dowtin chipped in 12. URI shot 54 percent from the field and made five of 13 from 3-point range, while tallying assists on 15 of their 25 field goals. The Bonnies were limited to 39 percent shooting and committed 18 turnovers.
“I wanted to see us play the game the right way,” Cox said. “The win is a byproduct of playing the game the right way. We played the game defensively and offensively the right way. That’s all I want to see moving forward. We’ll stack wins at some point, but we have to start playing the right way more consistently. Now the nextV challenge is, can we do it again?”
The first chance to replicate itt comes Saturday, when the Rams visit La Salle.