URI Edged by Davidson 58-57 in A-10 Championship

Monday, March 12, 2018

GoLocalProv Sports Team

 

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E.C. Matthews

The URI men’s basketball team lost the A-10 Championship game 58-57 to third-seeded Davidson on Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C.

Rhode Island will now wait to find out their NCAA Tournament seed and opponent when the bracket is revealed on Sunday night. 

Davidson will get the conference’s automatic bid.

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URI's Final Possession 

After leading 56-52 in the final minutes, URI trailed by one, 58-57, with 29 seconds left in the game with possession of the ball.

Following a timeout, Stanford Robinson’s jump shot from the corner rimmed out and went out of bounds off of a Davidson player to give the Rams the ball back with ten seconds to play.

On URI’s final possession, Jeff Dowtin's straight-away three was an airball with 0.9 seconds left to seal the win for Davidson.

It is Davidson's first-ever A-10 Championship. 

URI was led by E.C. Matthews, who poured in 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting from the field.

He was the only URI player to reach double-figures.

URI Rallies in 2nd Half 

URI trailed 52-45 with 5:58 to play in the game and Jared Terrell having picked up his fourth foul.

From that point, the Rams rallied.

Sparked by back-to-back threes from Dowtin and Jarvis Garrett, the Rams went on an 11-0 run to take a 56-52 lead capped off by step back three from Matthews with 3:43 to play.

Davidson would rally to take a 58-57 lead and hold on in the final seconds.

URI Holds Lead at Half

After trailing by as much as seven points early int he first half, the Rams trailed 32-29 with 2:36 to play in the first half.

URI’s Fatts Russell went to the free throw line and made one of two shots to cut the Rams deficit to two, 32-30, with 2:10 left to play.

After Davidson turned the ball over on their ensuing possession, the Rams got a three from Robinson off a pass from Jarvis Garrett to take a 33-32 lead.

Rhode Island would take that lead into the half.

 

Related Slideshow: URI Rams Basketball 2017-18 Projected Starting Lineup

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Guard

E.C. Matthews - Redshirt Senior 

E.C. Matthews returns for his redshirt senior season, now two years removed from ACL surgery. The Rams will need him to regain his form.

Matthews missed a couple of weeks during the preseason with knee tendinitis, but has since returned to practice and did play in URI's "secret scrimmage" against Harvard last week. 

Prior to the start of this season, Matthews was named to the first preseason All-Atlantic 10 team during A-10 Media Day. He is also on the John Wooden Award Watch List. 

Last season, Matthews averaged 15 points per game on 42% shooting from the field. In the A-10 Tournament, Matthews carried the Rams offense scoring 20, 19 and 19 points respectively in the three games to get the Rams the title. 

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Guard

Jared Terrell - Senior

Jared Terrell was named to second preseason All-Atlantic 10 team during A-10 Media Day. 

He returns to the Rams after averaging 13 points, three rebounds and one steal per game in 2016-17. 

Terrell will look to build off last season in which he shot 42 % from the field - the highest of his career. 

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Guard

Jeff Dowtin - Sophomore

Jeff Dowtin is coming off a freshman season in which he started the final 19 games, including both NCAA Tournament games. 

He averaged six points and two assists in 22 minutes of action per game last season while also recording 17 steals on the year. 

In URI's NCAA Tournament game against Creighton, Dowtin poured in a career-high 23 points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field. 

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Forward

Andre Berry - Senior 

In two seasons with the Rams, Andre Berry has played in 30 games, but hasn't started any. 

For his career, Berry has averaged 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in an averaged of six minutes per game. 

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Center

Cyril Langevine - Sophomore 

Cyril Langevine will make the start at one of the forward positions as the Rams will try to replace Hassan Martin, who they lost to graduation. 

Last season, Langevine played in 35 games and started five games for URI averaging three point, five rebounds, and one block. 

In URI's NCAA game against Oregon, Langevine had a near double-double with nine rebounds and nine points. He also had three steals. 

 

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