The Rams are now 15-15 (5-11) after falling to St. Louis 74-80 to wrap up their home slate for the 21-22 season. URI followed a familiar script on it’s way to the loss with some great moments mixed into the flow of the game but turnovers down the stretch and another brutal night from stripe doomed any hope of victory. Rhody controlled the first 14 minutes of the game jumping out to a 30-20 lead. The Billikens closed the half on a 19-3 run thanks to a 1-8 shooting stretch by the Rams combined with 3 turnovers. The Rams managed to battle back late in the second half, actually taking the lead a few times, for the last time with 4:38 on the clock thanks to a Sheppard run out layup. SLU finished strong though with Fred Thatch(21p 13r) providing the dagger 3 pointer to go up by 5 with 1:19 on the clock. More thoughts on the game can be found below.
Sebasition Thomas’ 7 point outburst on 3 consecutive trips down the court was the highlight of the game for me. When he’s playing with confidence Bassy can be absolutely electric. His finishes through contact were absurd and supercharged the Rams comeback effort. I also noticed he seems to be taking more of a leadership role in the team huddle and was a calming influence in the half court offense. I really hope we get to see him continue to develop as a Ram. If he can develop any semblance of an outside shot he has a chance to be a serious impact player as an upperclassman.
Both Mitchell twins found themselves on the bench to start the game Wednesday night. It did not ultimately affect their time on the floor as Makhel finished with 25 minutes played and Mahki added 24 minutes. Coach Cox after the game mentioned wanting to continue to ride the closing lineup from the weekend's win over Duquesne; but also gave merritt to the idea that coming off the bench could have served as a motivating factor for the twins. Mahki finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks to go along with 6 turnovers. Mahkel finished with 10 points but shot a staggering 3-16 from the field.
It was great to see Malik Martin and Antwan Walker get starts in the last home game of the year. Antwan has been a spark plug for 3 years. I’ve enjoyed everything about his game and viewed him as a TJ Buchanan type roll player. He’s also FUN and not much else has been fun about this team. Malik has also been solid during his 2 year stint in Kingston. The family connection has added a cool layer and Malik has brought a similar defensive tenacity, living up to his brother's legacy on that end of the court. Both Walker and Martin have brought consistent levels of effort during their tenure which is far from a given with other players on the roster. If they utilize their ability to grad transfer I will be sad to see them go.
The Ryan Center announced attendance as 5,735 but I’d put it as under 2,000.
J.V is coming back so that’s nice.
All signs are pointing to Rhody participating in the pillow fight on Wednesday at the Atlantic-10 championship next week. This will be the Rams first trip to play in round of the tournament since the 13-14 season. A win this weekend in Philly plus some help could salvage a 10th place finish but it doesn’t seem that likely.
I couldn’t help but wonder as the teams left the floor Wednesday night that we were seeing many members of the Rams for the last time. Ish El-amin and Jeremy Sheppard have used the last of their eligibility, Malik and Antwan can choose to grad transfer. General consensus is pointing towards a coaching change which would open up just about every other player on the roster to getting a waiver to approve a no-sit transfer. The rams I most want to see return to the Ryan center next year are as follows(not saying I want everyone else to leave)
TJ Buchanan
Sebastion Thomas
Antwan Walker
Malik Martin
Jalen Carey
Ish Leggett
Rhody wraps it’s regular season on Saturday on Hawk Hill at 1PM on ESPN+