URI Wins Season Opener 81 to 70 Over CCSU - Collective Sigh at the Ryan Center

Tuesday, November 07, 2023

Jim Malachowski, Sports Columnist

 

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Jaden House scores 25 for the Rams PHOTO: GoLocal

This one counts. The secret scrimmage, the Blue vs. White inter-squad game, and last week’s exhibition game don't count on the record.  Monday’s game against Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) counted.

URI prevailed 81 to 70. The Rams started off a little slow. URI had an 8-7 lead five minutes into the game.  After a time out, they settled in, took advantage of the mobility of their big men, and had a 16-point lead at the half, 47-31.

When the final buzzer sounded, many people connected with the URI program finally exhaled after holding their breath since the game’s tip-off. This was an important opening game. URI simply could not repeat the horrendous start the team, coaches, and fan base endured last year.  The beginning of the 2022 season saw URI lose its first two games, four of its first five, and seven of its first nine games.  The team never recovered from this atrocious start, finishing the year with nine wins and 22 losses.  It was a long, painful, and ugly year.

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The anxiety over this season’s start and this first game was exacerbated because it is practically a whole new team.  People do not know who the players are or what to expect.  The main question asked repeatedly over the past few months has been, “Will URI basketball be any better this year?”  The fickleness of fans comes through as the question is asked in a way one can sense the doubt and defeatism in the person asking the question.  Sometimes, it is not just what you say but how you say it.

 

Central Connecticut State University - Ranked #2 in Its Conference

There has been a lot of excitement around the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) men’s basketball team leading into this year.  The Northeast Conference preseason coach’s poll ranked them to finish second in the league.  This is CCSU’s highest ranking in 20 years.  CCSU is a deeply experienced team, returning nine players, three of whom are starters.  Its core players are juniors, seniors, or grad students who have been at CCSU and in Coach Patrick Sellers’ system for three years, some since they were freshmen.  This tenure is now unusual in the new college basketball portal world.  Senior Kelly Amos, a 6'7" swingman who is a preseason All-Conference honoree, is the team leader.  Amos is a slasher adept at cutting to the hoop, and led the league in dunks last year with 39.  He has talent around him in senior guard Jay Rogers (9.1 PPG, 2.3 APG, and 35 3PFG) and 6' 8¨ Providence native Jayden Brown, who was seventh in the league in blocked shots per game.  CCSU used the portal to bring in 6´ 7" grad student Allen Jeanne-Rose, a transfer from Fairfield who averaged double-digits in scoring last year. Sellers’ experienced and confident team arrived at the Ryan Center geared for an upset.  

On Monday, the vibe around the Ryan Center could not have been more different.  The Rams went into this first game of the new season with a new team.  They are a major unknown wrapped in trepidation and mystery.  Who are they?  Opening night was the first chance for the team to start answering these questions.    

URI coach Archie Miller was under a lot of pressure leading up to this season opener.  There was a moment during the media availability last Friday when it came through. He opened his post-game remarks by saying, “It has been a stressful day, we need to take a deep breath as we have a quick turnaround playing again on Thursday.”   

Miller’s players did not let him down. Jaden House scored 25 points on 10 of 18 shooting in 33 minutes.  Zek Montgomery was 7 of 10 from the floor, hitting his only three-pointer for a total of 20 points.  Brandon Weston scored 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including 2 for 2 on threes.  David Fuchs was the fourth player in double figures, scoring 10 points and contributing 4 rebounds.   Always Wright came off the bench and had 9 assists in only 27 minutes.

When asked about his ability to drive to the hoop and what he looks for, House said, “I see angles. I don’t see people. If I see one (an angle), I will attack every time, regardless of what defender is there.”

URI shot 56% from the floor.  They piled up 52 points in the paint, which was 64% of their scoring. They had 4 dunks. Jeremy Foumena, who typically is a good foul throw shooter singlehandedly, cratered the team’s free throw percentage. He went 2 for 8 from the line, and the team came in at 12 for 23 - 52%.  URI had 18 assists and committed 13 turnovers.  In somewhat of a surprise, the taller Rams only outrebounded CCSU 35 to 34.  Coach Miller was distressed about the 15 offensive rebounds CCSU got, which led to 19 second-chance points.

URI shut down Kellen Amos, who only scored 8 points with 5 rebounds and 2 turnovers.  CCSU was led by Allen Jeanne-Rose, who scored 21 points with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.  Jayden Brown started, and played 22 minutes, finishing with 11 points.  The only other double-digit scorer was Davonte Sweatman, who had 12 points.

The Rams showed potential, particularly on the offensive end. However, there were times when they seemed disjointed and struggled to find cohesiveness.  One disconcerting development was with 8:45 left in the game, URI seemed to stop playing hard.  They were up 70 to 47 and were outscored 22 to 11 the rest of the way.  The last eight minutes were a hot mess. Miller commented on this, saying, “Felt like we let it go… they thought it was over.” He further said, “You can see at times we have potential. But at other times, we look immature and lack attention.”  Overall, Miller was pleased with the team, emphasized they have a lot to do to get better, and he was happy with the win.

This version of the Rams gave an emphatic answer to those who asked if the team would be better this year.  This team is better.  They are taller, stronger, deeper, can score in more ways, and are determined to turn things around.  Whether that will translate into more wins than last year remains to be seen. They passed the first test, and it was an important one. There are many more tests to come, which will get more challenging.  A bad start to the season would result in people abandoning the program, students not attending games, and would make raising Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) money for next year’s team extremely difficult.

 

NEXT:  Thursday, November 9, against Fairfield University at 7:00 PM at the Ryan Center

 

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