Rhode Island basketball's season was not one to remember. Here's how it ended

NEW YORK — One final stretch of missed opportunities delivered the University of Rhode Island to the close of its men’s basketball season.

Potential tying 3-pointers by David Green and Jaden House found the front rim. Earlier free throws didn’t hit the mark. A wing turnover from Zek Montgomery and two lost defensive assignments from Luis Kortright all proved costly.

It’s the combination of finer details that tends to derail teams over the course of a year. The Rams came to the end of theirs on Tuesday night in Brooklyn, suffering a 74-71 defeat against Saint Louis.

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Gibson Jimerson left the door open by connecting on just the front end of a 1-and-1 chance with 10.2 seconds left. URI rushed into the frontcourt and managed to squeeze off a pair of shots from the right side. Neither one could force overtime in the nightcap at Barclays Center, and the Rams are heading home before nine other Atlantic 10 teams take the floor for the conference tournament here.

“We have way too many empty possessions under three minutes, under two minutes, under one minute — which really kind of gave the game away when we had control,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “I’ll take full responsibility for not being able to pull this one out.”

URI seemed determined to extend its stay deep into the second half. Green’s 3-pointer from the right corner gave the Rams a 67-63 lead as they were a scorching 15-for-22 from the floor after the break. That came with 4:35 left — URI stumbled to just 1-for-7 the rest of the way, and House hit the back rim on a pair from the line with 2:51 to play.

“We did a pretty good job of managing the game without turning it over until late,” Miller said. “Turnovers in the last four or five minutes — we squandered, I would say, a half-dozen possessions.”

Saint Louis tied the game when Cian Medley slipped by Kortright for a drive down the right — it was a 67-67 deadlock with 2:32 left. Terrence Hargrove Jr. connected on a pair of free throws to give the Billikens the lead for good with 1:20 to play and Saint Louis added to it inside the final 30 seconds. Medley beat Kortright again to the left and Jimerson cut off the weak side for a layup that put the Rams in deep trouble.

“That winning edge,” Miller said. “That winning DNA at the end of the game. Knowing what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it, taking care of the ball, getting a good look — that's why I said it was on me.”

URI showed some real energy in the second half to eventually build a five-point advantage. House’s layup on the run and a David Fuchs drive on the break made it 49-45, and the Billikens called a timeout with 13:10 to play. The Rams had finally solved some offensive problems against a zone look by beating it down the floor, and House netted 11 of his team-high 18 points over the final 20 minutes.

“I think I just saw the lane open up a little bit,” House said. “I was trying to attack the lanes and make plays from there.”

It was a 10-2 run that ultimately gave URI its largest lead. Fuchs fought for an offensive rebound and put back a layup inside. He followed with a dunk off a nice pass from Kortright on the pick-and-roll, and the Rams opened a 64-59 cushion with 5:47 to play.

“We found motivation from just not wanting to end our season on this note,” Green said. “We tried to get up off the ground all season. We came out with some energy and were able to make plays and get back in the game.”

URI suffered through a field goal drought of 7:46 in the opening half. Saint Louis was doubling up the Rams at 24-12 before Brandon Weston finally broke the ice with a 3-pointer from the right wing. URI connected on three straight shots after missing eight in a row and chopped its deficit to single digits.

“We were slow into things,” Miller said. “There was very little ball movement. We struggled to get quality looks.”

It could have been less than 41-32 at the break. The Billikens turned a Fuchs blocked shot and a steal into a pair of Hargrove 3-pointers off the right wing. Saint Louis (13-19) was quicker to those two loose balls, and what was a 35-30 game spread out a bit into the locker room.

“We knew we would get their best effort,” Saint Louis coach Travis Ford said. “Just really proud of these guys.”

The Rams carried a 12-19 record into this field — anything short of winning the national championship meant consecutive 20-loss seasons. Jim Baron’s last year and Dan Hurley’s first were the last time it happened, a period covering 2011-13. Miller enters another spring and summer looking to cement a roster that can potentially return URI back to the league’s top half and beyond.

“It’s two completely different teams,” Miller said. “This one to me is disappointing because we had enough talent. We had enough pieces. We just could never get over the hump.”

bkoch@providencejournal.com     

On X: @BillKoch25

SAINT LOUIS (74): Ezewiro 5-7 0-4 10, Hargrove 6-9 4-4 18, Hughes 1-5 0-0 2, Jimerson 8-22 7-8 26, Medley 3-8 0-0 7, Thames 3-6 0-3 6, van Bussel 2-2 1-1 5, Zhang 0-0 0-0 0; totals 28-59 12-20 74. RHODE ISLAND (71): Fuchs 3-3 0-2 6, Green 4-11 4-6 14, House 8-12 1-3 18, Kortright 3-6 4-5 10, Weston 2-6 0-0 6, Montgomery 1-8 5-6 7, Estevez 3-6 1-2 8, Brown 1-2 0-0 2; totals 25-54 15-24 71.

Halftime — Saint Louis 41-32. 3-point goals — Saint Louis 6-22 (Jimerson 3-10, Hargrove 2-4, Medley 1-4, Thames 0-1, Hughes 0-3), Rhode Island 6-19 (Weston 2-4, Green 2-5, House 1-3, Estevez 1-4, Montgomery 0-1, Kortright 0-2). Fouled out — Weston. Rebounds — Saint Louis 34 (Ezewiro 11), Rhode Island 31 (Green, Kortright 6). Assists — Saint Louis 20 (Medley 9), Rhode Island 12 (Kortright 5). Total fouls — Saint Louis 19, Rhode Island 17. Records — Saint Louis 13-19, Rhode Island 12-20.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island basketball loses to St. Louis, 74-71, Atlantic 10 tourney