URI WINS
Friday, March 16, 2018
Jared Terrell is on fire !!!!pic.twitter.com/ipbwQpGMXm
— #FreeMidMajors (@MidnightCampus) March 15, 2018
The URI Rams are on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
E.C. Matthews hit two threes in the overtime period as the Rams edged tenth-seeded Oklahoma 83-78 in an overtime thriller on Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh to advance to the second round for the second straight year.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTMatthews Wins it in OT
Oklahoma scored the first three points of the overtime period to take a 72-69 lead with 3:42 to play.
From there, URI went on a 7-0 run to take control of the game.
The Rams got within one, 72-71, after a Cyril Langevine layup with 3:24 to play in extra time.
Rhode Island still trailed by one when E.C. Matthews knocked down a three to give Rhode Island a 74-72 lead with 1:52 to play.
Langevine would knock down two free throws to push URI's lead to 76-72 with 1:03 to play.
The Sooners would get back within two, 76-74, on a jump shot by Kameron McGusty with 56 seconds left.
On URI's next possession, Matthews knocked down a straightaway three
Russell Sparks URI in 2nd Half
After trailing by as much as eight points in the second half, the Rams trailed 50-45 with just under 13 minutes to play in the game.
From that point, the Rams went on a 10-0 run capped off by back-to-back threes from Matthews and Fatts Russell to take a 55-50 lead with 8:54 to play.
After a Jarvis Garrett free throw made it 56-52, Russell hit another three to push the Rams lead to 59-52.
After Oklahoma cut URI’s lead to 59-55, Russell hit another three to push the Rams lead to 62-55.
After the Sooners got within four, 64-60, Russell and Oklahoma’s Trae Young traded layups to put URI up 66-62 with 2:58 to play.
The Sooners would rally to take a 67-66 lead with 1:35 to go before the Rams got a three-point play from E.C. Matthews to take a 69-67 lead.
On Oklahoma's ensuing possession, Stanford Robinson drew a charge to give Rhode Island the ball back with 48 seconds to play.
After Russell air-balled a three, Young would race down the court and get to the free throw line to tie the game at 69 with 15 seconds left.
On URI's final possession of the game, Jeff Dowtin missed a layup and Stanford Robinson was unable to convert the put-back, sending the game to overtime.
Russell finished the game with 13 points off the bench for Rhode Island, including three of four shooting from three.
Next up
URI will now await the winner of the game between second-seeded Duke and 15th-seeded Iona.
Related Slideshow: URI Rams Basketball 2017-18 Projected Starting Lineup
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