The URI Rams hit the Ryan Center floor again tonight, putting their four game winning streak on the line against the La Salle Explorers. Both teams enter conference play 1-0 after dominating their Atlantic 10 openers, La Salle vs Saint Louis and Rhody against George Mason. The game can be seen on Yurview New England at 7:00pm and will also be streaming live on Yurview.com.
For Rhode Island, their senior guards have been showing why the Rams were picked to finish first in the league in the preseason. Jared Terrell, E.C. Matthews, Stanford Robinson and Jarvis Garrett have all settled nicely into their roles, while sophomore Jeff Dowtin and freshman Fatts Russell are also main contributors in Dan Hurley’s in the backcourt. Add it all up, and some believe Rhody has the deepest stable of guards in the country.
68 of Rhode Island’s 80 points against Florida Gulf Coast were scored by its six perimeter players. Deepest back court in college basketball resides in Kingston.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 28, 2017
Particularly, Terrell and Matthews form a dynamic duo, as either (or both) can drop twenty-plus points on any given night. And they may need to, as La Salle has the offensive talent to put points on the scoreboard in a hurry. The Explorers beat Rhody in Kingston last year, dropping 87 points on Dan Hurley’s usually-tough defense.
Dr. John Giannini has a pretty good duo of his own in B.J. Johnson and Pookie Powell. Johnson, who has been sidelined the last couple games, is averaging nearly 22 points per game, while Powell is scoring over 17 points per games.
Pookie is feeling it! 24 points for the redshirt junior PG, and #LaSalleMBB has opened up a 56-26 lead over Saint Louis. 14:56 left, 2nd half. pic.twitter.com/gyvJLPCOiq
— La Salle Basketball (@LaSalleMBB) December 30, 2017
The Rams certainly won’t be taking La Salle lightly,regardless if Johnson is able to go. With a target on their back as the favorite in the Atlantic 10, they can expect every opponent’s best shot. They got it from La Salle last season, so it can’t come as a surprise tonight.
Watch as the URI Rams try to improve to 2-0 in Atlantic 10 play vs La Salle at 7:00pm on Yurview New England and Yurview.com.
