City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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In its first game since the announcement of Shavar Newkirk’s season-ending ACL tear, St. Joe’s got blown out by a formidable Rhode Island squad on the road, falling in their season’s first league away game by a tally of 88-58.

At First…
The Rams jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead within the first four minutes of play, but it wasn’t until the end of the half the they began to take a stranglehold on the game. The Hawks even held an 18-17 after two Chris Clover free throws midway through the half, but URI retaliated with a 15-0 run to take over.

As a whole, Rhode Island outscored SJU by 21 over the last 8:32 of the half, from the time the Hawks’ only first-half lead had been taken, as 16 Jared Terrell points had the Rams up 46-26 going into the break.

Turning Point…
It was the end of the first half the really swung things for the home team, as St. Joe’s showed zero signs of coming back in the second half, as they never pulled within 18 for the remainder of the game. By the 4:30 mark, URI had opened a 30-point advantage, officially putting away the Hawks on a layup by E.C. Matthews.

Standout Stars…
In the losing effort, St. Joe’s had all nine of its players that saw time on the floor record points, with three reaching double digits. Leading the way were Charlie Brown with 11 and James Demery, with a team-high 17 as well as eight rebounds.

As for the Rams, Terrell’s performance was stellar to pace his team. He finished with a game-high 24 points, shot 5-of-6 from three, and dished out five assists. E.C. Matthews also contributed 20 points for URI.

Noteworthy Numbers…
7: Rhode Island did an excellent job of minimizing mistakes, as they turned the ball over just seven times, only allowing SJU to score two points off of turnovers. The Hawks, on the other hand, finished with 17 giveaways.

35: One of the lone highlights in the Hawks’ loss came in terms of their inside production. St. Joe’s outscored their conference counterpart 35-22 in the paint.

53: Led by Terrell’s hot shooting, Rhody was lights out from beyond the arc all night. The Rams connected on 16 of their 30 long-distance attempts for a final shooting clip of 53 percent.

Up Next…
St. Joe’s (7-6, 1-1 A10) at Fordham – Sat., Jan. 7 @ 3:00 p.m.
Rhode Island (10-4, 2-0 A10) at Dayton – Fri., Jan. 6 @ 7:00 p.m.