Rhode Island basketball leaves Cayman Islands on a high note
The third time was the charm for the Rhode Island men's basketball team, which topped Illinois State, 57-44, in the finale of the Rams' trip to the Cayman Islands Classic on Wednesday.
More:Here's what Archie Miller says Rhode Island basketball has to improve after Cayman Classic opener
Rhode Island opened up what was just a two-point advantage at the break to a comfortable victory. Brayon Freeman led all scorers with 21 points (and five rebounds), with 15 coming in the second half, and teammate Ishmael Leggett — who had a career-high 34 points on Tuesday — added 18 (going 11 for 13 from the line). URI had dropped earlier contests to Kansas State and Tulane before finding its rhythm against the Redbirds — the first meeting between the two programs.
The Redbirds were led by Kendall Lewis, who recorded 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Illinois State also got eight points apiece from Malachi Poindexter and Colton Sandage. Illinois State leaves George Town at 0-3. The Rams are scheduled for a noon tip-off on Sunday at Boston College.
An earlier version of this story gave the wrong point total for URI's Ishmael Leggett. He had 34 points on Tuesday.
ILLINOIS ST. (44): Lewis 3-10 7-10 14, McChesney 1-7 2-3 5, Burford 1-7 0-0 2, Knight 2-4 2-4 7, Sandage 3-6 0-0 8, Poindexter 3-6 0-0 8, Kasubke 0-4 0-0 0, Kotov 0-1 0-0 0, Petrakis 0-3 0-0 0, Sissoko 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-48 11-17 44. RHODE ISLAND (57): Samb 0-1 0-0 0, Leggett 3-9 11-13 18, Martin 0-6 0-0 0, Thomas 0-3 0-0 0, Hutchinson 0-3 0-0 0, Freeman 9-21 2-2 21, Bilau 4-8 2-2 10, Stewart 3-6 1-2 8, Weston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 16-19 57.Halftime_Rhode Island 24-22. 3-Point Goals_Illinois St. 7-22 (Poindexter 2-4, Sandage 2-5, Knight 1-1, McChesney 1-2, Lewis 1-3, Burford 0-2, Petrakis 0-2, Kasubke 0-3), Rhode Island 3-20 (Stewart 1-3, Freeman 1-4, Leggett 1-5, Hutchinson 0-2, Martin 0-3, Thomas 0-3). Fouled Out_Samb. Rebounds_Illinois St. 22 (Lewis, Knight 7), Rhode Island 39 (Bilau 11). Assists_Illinois St. 7 (Burford 3), Rhode Island 5 (Leggett 2). Total Fouls_Illinois St. 23, Rhode Island 17.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island basketball leaves Cayman Islands on a high note
