Six Rams scored double digits and two notched double-doubles as Rhode Island (17-8) put on a clinic in the paint against La Salle (12-14) to prevail 86-71 on Saturday.
Just 20 days prior, Rhode Island suffered its worst loss of the season at La Salle. That loss left a bitter feeling around the team that they didn’t forget.
“Probably the worst feeling we’ve had all season was leaving La Salle and letting them get away with how they played us in game one,” Rhode Island head coach Archie Miller said. “Our inability to execute and really do things in that game was really disappointing, so I think our guys took that to heart in the last two days.”
However, it wasn’t just that loss earlier in the season that motivated the Rams. Many had their reasons for playing their best basketball. Toronto native and fourth-year Javonte Brown had his family in attendance, and Brown put on a show for them. Brown had his second double-double of the season, putting up 13 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
“I’ve been talking to the coaches trying to get advice, trying to see what I got to do better,” Brown said. “They just tell me to be aggressive and play and don’t care about mistakes… I haven’t seen family in a while cause they’re all the way back home in Toronto, but it felt really good to play in front of family again.”
Brown wasn’t the only Ram with extra-motivation. Fourth-year Jaden House was fresh off what was his worst performance in his two years as a Ram. In the previous game, House was a non-factor in their win, and he knew it, scoring zero points in 19 minutes and missing all six of his shot attempts.
“I owed my team one, I didn’t have the best mindset last game,” House said. “We still came out with a win, but I knew that I owed my team one.”
House was the Rams’ leading scorer, finishing with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals.
“I’m proud of him [House], he had a tough night on Wednesday,” Miller said. “I didn’t really like his body language to be honest with you. He was down on himself… I thought he let it carry into the bench and how he talked… but I’m proud of him because he’s a resilient guy, he wants to win, and he wants to play well.”
That combination of House and Brown helped the Rams dominate the battle in the paint. Rhode Island finished with 44 points in the paint to La Salle’s 22. In the first battle between these two, the Rams only had 22 paint points, while the Explorers had 26. A lot of that has to do with those two Rams, as well as second-year David Fuchs, who was just one rebound shy of a double-double, going for 11 points, nine rebounds and a block despite just playing 20 minutes off the bench.
“I know for me when I’m talking to guys like Coach Whitford they tell me I have to take up a lot of real estate.” Said the 7-footer Brown. “I got to try and do that on both sides of the court.”
Rhode Island also reached their assist goal of 16 per game. The Rams finished with 18 assists to just 10 turnovers. The Rams were one of the best teams in the nation early in the year in terms of assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. However, this was just their fourth game with more assists than turnovers since A-10 play started, and their first in seven games.
“I think we need to be more free-flowing, I think we need more movement, I think we need our paint more open,” Miller said. “We’re trying to really emphasize more player movement and ball movement. With maybe one guy screening rather than two guys screening. Dave [Green] is such a great 3-point shooter that he really gives us the ability to stretch the floor, and I think that’s really helped us in our last three halves.”
Rhode Island has outscored their opponents 129-98 in their last three halves, even though fourth-year David Green picked up eight fouls in 31 minutes during that stretch. Even with the recent foul trouble, Green is the second-leading scorer for Rhode Island, averaging 14.3 points per game for the second season in a row.
Besides the aforementioned Rams, other players who reached the 10-point benchmark include fourth-year Drissa Traore, whose 10 points were a career-high; third-year Jamarques Lawrence and fourth-year Sebastian Thomas, who had 11 points and 11 assists, marking his fourth double-double of the season. It’s worth noting that Green finished with nine points in just 14 minutes.
As for the Explorers, they were led by first-year Deuce Jones, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds, good for his first career double-double. As a team, the Explorers shot 38.8% from the field and made a season-low eight free throws.
Rhode Island now has its last bye of the season, with fourth-year Quentin Diboundje recovering from a recent shoulder injury suffered in practice. This break comes at a needed time for the Rams.
“I don’t really like the week breaks, I think when you’re playing good basketball you want to play another one right away,” Miller said. “But we do need Q [Diboundje] back so this may give him some extra time to get back, but it’s so late in the year that fresh minds and bodies means more than prep.”
Up next for Rhode Island is a road trip to Saint Louis (14-12). The Billikens are 11-3 at home and will also have the week off leading up to their date with the Rams. While there will be games played in the A-10 before either team takes the court again, as of now, they are both just outside the top four of the A-10. The Billikens find themselves one game out of a double-bye and two games ahead of those without a bye. For the Rams, they are two games away from the double-bye and just one ahead of those bottom four teams.
At this point, Miller’s inability to win on the road with Rhode Island is well documented; Miller is an abysmal 5-24 on the road. If Rhode Island manages to pass this difficult test despite their known road struggles, the public perception of their ability to truly contend for an A-10 title could shift.
