Rams clawed by Hawks
No. 17 Rhode Island embarrassed by St. Joseph’s
URI gets blown out on home court by St. Joseph’s
KINGSTON — Look at the resume of any NCAA Tournament-bound team and you’re likely to find some head-scratching losses. No. 17 Rhode Island has been notable this season for its ability to sidestep lesser foes, keeping their ‘bad losses’ column clean all season.
That is, until Tuesday night.
The loss was the largest margin of the season for the Rams as well as their lowest point total.
The Rams struggled from 3-point land (3for-29), but also failed to finish in the restricted area (18-for-64 overall from the field). The Hawks, the worst 3-point shooting team in the Atlantic 10, were deadly from deep (8-for-13).
“They played zone,” Hurley said of the Hawks. “Did a good job of packing it in. They protected the paint. When a team is packing their zone and you’re not making shots, it becomes this mental thing.”
Even with the puzzling loss, this program has never had a senior class quite like this. Not in quality, not in quantity. All five players played instrumental roles in elevating the program from one of their lowest points in history to becoming a national contender.
Only two members of the class took the traditional route to get to their Senior Day. Jared Terrell and Jarvis Garrett have been mainstays in the Rhody rotation since they first set foot on campus and have a legitimate shot at setting a new URI record for most wins in a fouryear career.
Terrell has started every game possible in his career, save one that came in his freshman season. He still logged 24 minutes in that game, only ceding his starting slot to current URI assistant T.J. Buchanan, who was celebrating his senior day at the time.
The guard’s persistent presence on the court has led to continual improvement in a litany of statistical categories over the past four years.
Garrett missed nine games in his career, a number that only seems significant when compared to Terrell’s zero. His absences came following a brutal bout of ulcerative colitis that saw him lose an unhealthy amount of weight, and a broken jaw that only sidelined him for a game-and-a-half of the 2015-16 campaign.
E.C. Matthews found bumps in his road due to injuries. A torn ACL delayed his collegiate career a full season, but didn’t alter the impact of his fateful choice four years ago. Matthews came to Kingston as Hurley’s first heralded recruit and has been described by his head coach as the first domino in the Rhody rebuild.
Andre Berry, a three-year player for the Rams - started his career as a bench-warmer before transforming himself - quite literally - into a starter. When he transferred in from the New Mexico Military Institute, he was pushing 300 pounds and didn’t have the required lateral quickness to play in Hurley’s aggressive man defense.
Stan Robinson joined the team as a defensive-minded transfer from Indiana. Though he didn’t do much in the way of scoring at his first collegiate stop, he’s been prone to outbursts of scoring at dramatic junctures.
The Hawks put a damper on the festivities with a 15-0 first half run that built up a 19-point halftime lead. No matter the combination of players Hurley trotted out, they looked just as hapless as the last group.
“An emotional night, didn’t handle it very well,” he said. “Disappointed in this group of guys going out that way in their last game [at the Ryan Center].
“Senior Night is a tricky thing. We talked about treating it like just another game. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane after we win the game. Don’t think about it as your last game here.”
“We just weren’t ready to play,” despite that warning,” said Terrell. “Didn’t come out prepared. Mentally hurt ourselves.”
“Lack of respect, I don’t think we respected them enough,” chimed in Matthews. “They came in and hit us, and we didn’t know how to respond.”
The Rams will look to shake off their first home loss of the year as they head into March. After their regular season finale against Davidson later this week, URI will start the A-10 Tournament as the top seeded team the following Friday.
“We’re gonna watch this tomorrow and we’re going to own it,” Hurley said. “As coaches, and as players. The other night with the whole ceremony… I think for a couple days we were taking victory laps. Can’t do that in sports. Have to be ready for the next one.”