Defense once again fails Rhode Island basketball in home loss to A-10 contender Richmond

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The rising tension in the Ryan Center was akin to an elastic being stretched.

Its inevitable snapping came late in the second half Wednesday night, with Richmond pushing the University of Rhode Island out of reach.

The men’s basketball contender in the Atlantic 10 standings eventually took command against a middler. It’s a script that has played out multiple times against the Rams in this dwindling season.

Jordan King caught fire from the field while the Spiders asserted themselves. His perimeter touch was the key in this 85-77 victory, as the hosts dropped their third straight.

Richmond used a 9-0 run that took barely a minute to assume command. What was a 62-57 lead swelled to 14 points with 6:44 to play, and there was no real way back for URI. The Rams pulled within two possessions twice inside the final 1:29 but came no closer.

“It’s not all on them,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “The coach has to sit here and look himself in the mirror and say, ‘Where did you let this group down?’ I haven’t been able to connect with this group — the ability to be able to make us better defensively.

“It’s a first.”

It was the sixth time this season URI has allowed at least an adjusted 1.20 points per possession. The Rams surrender 1.11 on the season — that's 277th nationally and the worst performance to date among Miller’s 12 seasons at Dayton, Indiana and here. The Spiders shot 55%, committed just nine turnovers and put five players in double figures while keeping pace with Loyola Chicago atop the league standings.

“If you’re at home and the opponent comes into your building and gets 85 points, you’ve got no chance,” Miller said. “In your building, when the opponent can come in and get 85, you better be real good to get 86.

“It’s hard to get 86. Where we’re at, the evolution of our program, this is new to me.”

Luis Kortright’s conventional three-point play with 7:57 left had URI within striking distance. The Spiders took off from there behind King, who followed a layup with a pull-up 3-pointer from the left wing. The Rams used a timeout with 7:19 to play that didn’t stop the momentum — Isaiah Bigelow and Dji Bailey both scored at the rim to make it a 71-57 game.

“I thought they executed pretty well offensively tonight,” Miller said. “Defensively, it’s just not college basketball standard that I’m used to. There’s nowhere to go. Got to wake back up tomorrow. Got to get to work.”

The Ramblers controlled the glass while easing past URI here on Sunday — it was a different story through the opening 20 minutes against Richmond. The Rams owned a 20-13 advantage on the boards, including nine offensive rebounds. Those extra opportunities led to an 11-5 edge on second-chance points.

“We played well enough to beat Richmond on offense tonight,” Miller said. “We just can’t guard anyone. We couldn’t at any point through the 40 minutes get consistent stops.”

URI also forced five first-half turnovers — a modest number by normal standards, but noteworthy against the Spiders. They entered as the most sure-handed offensive team in the nation, giving the ball away on just 12.2% of possessions. The Rams built an 11-1 scoring margin off those mistakes to help take the halftime lead.

“I wouldn’t say in this game our guys didn’t compete and play to win,” Miller said. “I thought we played a good team. I thought we played sharp at times on offense — that helped us.”

King netted 20 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and was 4-for-5 from 3-point range. He added seven assists against just one turnover in 38 minutes. Bigelow finished with 14 points and Bailey added 13 for Richmond (19-7, 11-2 Atlantic 10), which collected its sixth straight win in the series.

“They didn’t stop scoring all game,” Miller said. “Consistently, they were scoring. If we weren’t going to be able to get stops at some point, the first team that had a lull on offense was going to kind of go down.”

David Fuchs netted 17 of his career-high 23 points in the first half for URI (11-15, 5-8), which is on a second three-game losing streak in league play. Fuchs added 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Kortright finished with 11 and a team-high five assists.

“If you get 23 and 12 as a freshman in February in this league, you’re a good player,” Miller said. “At the end of the day, what we’re asking him to do and how we’re asking him to do it, you hope he has some [players] around him who can help.”

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

RICHMOND (85): Bigelow 5-9 2-2 14, Quinn 3-6 1-2 7, Bailey 6-8 1-5 13, Hunt 3-6 3-5 10, King 9-21 2-2 25, Harris 2-3 0-0 5, Walz 5-6 0-0 10, Tyne 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 33-60 10-18 85. RHODE ISLAND (77): Fuchs 9-12 4-6 23, Green 4-13 3-3 12, House 5-11 0-1 13, Kortright 3-9 3-3 11, Weston 1-4 2-3 4, Montgomery 2-4 0-0 5, Wright 0-1 0-0 0, Estevez 1-3 0-0 3, Brown 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 27-59 14-18 77.

Halftime_Rhode Island 42-40. 3-Point Goals_Richmond 9-21 (King 5-10, Bigelow 2-5, Harris 1-1, Hunt 1-3, Tyne 0-1, Walz 0-1), Rhode Island 9-19 (House 3-5, Kortright 2-4, Estevez 1-1, Fuchs 1-1, Montgomery 1-1, Green 1-6, Weston 0-1). Rebounds_Richmond 30 (Bailey 6), Rhode Island 29 (Fuchs 12). Assists_Richmond 21 (Quinn, King 7), Rhode Island 17 (Kortright 5). Total Fouls_Richmond 17, Rhode Island 17.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island basketball loses to Richmond in Atlantic 10 battle