Rhody notches NCAA win
Rhode Island earns first Tournament win since 1998
Rams topple Creighton in tourney opener
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rhode Island’s wait for a berth into the NCAA tournament turned out to be well worth it.
After an 18-year absence from the big dance, the No. 11 Rams came crashing back into March with a bang – up-ending No. 6 Creighton, 84-72 Friday afternoon at the Golden1 Center.
“Our goal going in was to try to take away the 3-point line as much as we could,” said URI coach Dan Hurley. “Force them into tough twos, make them uncomfortable on offense. Another goal defensively was to keep that dynamic combo of [Marcus] Foster and [Khyri] Thomas to 25 points or less.”
The target set by Hurley was uncannily accurate, as the two guards combined to score exactly 25 points against the elite URI defense. The true difference in the game on that end of the court came when Hassan Martin and Justin Patton faced off.
Patton – tabbed as a lottery pick in the NBA if he leaves Creighton – fouled out with 3:50 remaining in the game and URI up 12 points. Prior to his exclusion from the contest, Patton was limited by Martin to eight points on 3-for-12 shooting.
“He’s a great player,” said Martin of his matchup. “My mindset coming in was to be real physical with him. I knew he wasn’t that strong of a guy. He’s really tall, so I had to push him off the block and box our really hard.”
On the offensive side of things, the Rams overcame a 4-21 mark from deep by displaying an uncanny knack for hitting free throws.
Rhody was 28-for-31 from the foul line. E.C. Matthews and Jeff Dowtin were both 10-for-10. In the second half, URI hit 24 consecutive free throws to salt away their first tourney victory since the Sweet 16 1998.
“Just justice there,” said Hurley of his team finally finding their stroke from the line. “We’ve taken a lot of flack for our free throw shooting. I guess I finally figured out how to teach it.”
“Tongue in cheek, obviously,” he added, to a healthy fit of laughter from the assembled press.
Dowtin, a freshman point guard, has blossomed into a crucial player over the course of the second half of the season, and looked right at home in the NCAA Tournament.
Dowtin kept URI ahead of the Bluejays by double digits in the second half by nailing two long 2-pointers. Fellow freshman Cyril Langevine collected his own miss a few possessions later, and put it back up and in to keep URI safely in front. Dowtin registered a career-high 23 points in the game, leading all scorers.
“I felt a couple of jitters in the first couple minutes of the game, but once I was able to get my confidence up, get a rhythm going,” I was fine, Dowtin said. “Everything else settled in and my teammates told me, keep playing the same way you have all year. After that I was good to go.”
If the expectation was for URI to come out shaky or nervous against an established postseason program, that narrative evaporated before it could even take form. The Rams never trailed in the first half, and the only tie came at 17.
Kuran Iverson struggled with his jump shot early, but found his form in the flow of the game and helped the Rams to a seven-point half time advantage. The senior hit two 3pointers in the final three minutes of the half to stave off the Bluejays before the break.
“I didn’t think I would have a good offensive night tonight,” admitted Iverson, who finished with 17 points. “I thought I would just have a good defensive night. Once I got that shot going, I kept telling myself, ‘next one’s going to go in.’”
While Iverson’s veteran experience surely helped him on Friday, the Rams saw strong performances from players who are still new to college basketball, nevermind the NCAA Tournament.
Dowtin and Langevine both gave the Rams a boost when they desperately needed it. Langevine had five rebounds off the bench and Dowtin played like a veteran point guard. Despite not tabulating any assists, Dowtin recorded no turnovers and was an offensive force.
The Rams only had to sweat the final result for a small stretch of the second half. A Matthews steal-andscore had them ahead 10 points, but the Bluejays quickly halved that deficit.
A Ronnie Harrell Jr. fastbreak dunk finished off a 7-2 Bluejay streak, forcing a Hurley timeout
The duo of Martin and Iverson has given opposing defenses headaches all season, and the two showed off their chemistry on a number of plays on Friday. Martin – situated outside the paint – twice found Iverson streaking to the basket, leading to a dunk and layup. The layup came following Hurley’s timeout, a designed play that gave the Rams a much-needed easy look.
The eight-plus minutes remaining following that timeout were destined to determine the outcome of the game. Instead of the Bluejays continuing to ride their momentum and overcome the Rams, URI buckled down and played like a team that has more March experience than they actually do.
URI did not miss a free throw until garbage time rolled around, and they committed just three turnovers against a somewhat lackluster Creighton press.
The Rams now advance to the second round, which will also be played in Sacramento.
Waiting in the wings for the could-be Cinderella is Oregon. The Ducks handled their first-round opponent with ease, running by Iona 93-77. The Ducks will have a strong homecourt advantage, playing just down the coast from their campus. The two teams tip-off on Sunday, time still to be determined.
“We were so locked in on Creighton,” said Hurley, pushing aside any questions of the next matchup. “We didn’t get ahead of ourselves. We knew how great of a team they are. We wanted to show them the respect they deserve with our preparation.”
Hurley added that he will consult with his brother Bobby, who is the head coach of fellow PAC-12 school Arizona St., as long as that’s not an NCAA compliance violation.