University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, February 18
Kingston, R.I.
2 PM
University of Massachusetts
14-13,5-10Atlantic 10
69
at
45
Rhode Island
8-18,4-10Atlantic 10
1
2
F
Massachusetts
34
35
69
Rhode Island
26
19
45
UMass Picks Up Largest A-10 Road Win Since 1996, Defeats Rhode Island 69-45
February 18, 2023 | Men's Basketball
The Minutemen held Rhode Island to 25-percent from the field on the day while shooting 50-percent for the game.
KINGSTON, R.I. – UMass picked up its largest win over an Atlantic 10 opponent since 1996 with a 69-45 win over Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon in the Ryan Center. The Minutemen (14-13 Overall, 5-10 Atlantic 10) held the Rams (8-18 overall, 4-10 Atlantic 10) to just 25-percent from the field on the day while shooting 50-percent in the road win.
UMass has two wins of 24-points or more during the span of 27 years with both wins coming away from campus sites. The Minutemen defeated Rhode Island in the Providence Civic Center in 2001 by 32 points and bested Fordham in Madison Square Garden in Feb. of 1996. UMass last had a true road of 24 points or more over an A-10 opponent in a 59-35 win at Temple on Feb. 1, 1996.
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Rhode Island started off by making 5-of-7 shots from the field to take a 13-7 lead just under five minutes into play. Ishmael Leggett had nine of the first 13 points for the Rams and finished the day with a game-high 18 points. Rhode Island finished the first half at 27-percent from the field and ended the game by shooting 8-of-35 in the final 20 minutes.
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The Minutemen, meanwhile, knocked down three of their first five attempts from 3-point range with Keon Thompson tying it up at 14-14 with his lone attempt from deep. Thompson finished the afternoon with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-10 from the field and added six rebounds and five assists.
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The Rams missed 12 consecutive field goal attempts late in the first half as the Minutemen built a then 3-point advantage. UMass held Rhode Island to 1-of-15 from the field to end the first half as the Rams made just one field goal over the final 9:30 heading into the break. The Minutemen converted on 48-percent of shot attempts in the first half and held a 34-26 lead at halftime.
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UMass continued the defensive lockdown in the second half as Rhode Island started 0-for-4 in the second and made two of its first 10 shot attempts. Tafara Gapare gave UMass its then largest lead of the day at 42-30 with a slam dunk following an offensive rebound. Gapare ended the day with 11 points while hauling in seven rebounds to tie his career-high.
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Fellow freshman RJ Luis joined two other freshmen in double figures for UMass as he finished with 14 points on 7-of-11 from the field to go along with seven rebounds. Isaac Kante finished with nine points and eight boards while getting the start with Rahsool Diggins adding nine points off the bench.
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UMass used an 8-0 scoring run to build its first 20-plus lead of the afternoon after Luis added two more to his second half tally of 12 points over the final 20 minutes. The Minutemen led by as many as 27 points with less than a minute to go on the way to a 24-point victory.
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The Minutemen shot 52-percent from the field over the last 20 minutes and finished the day with a 46-37 rebound advantage over the Rams. Gianni Thompson hauled in a career-high six boards in 14 minutes off the bench as one of five Minutemen with five or more rebounds.
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The Minutemen return home to the Mullins Center for a Wednesday night nationally televised matchup against Dayton. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
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For complete coverage of the UMass men's basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter at @UMassMBB, on Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com
UMass has two wins of 24-points or more during the span of 27 years with both wins coming away from campus sites. The Minutemen defeated Rhode Island in the Providence Civic Center in 2001 by 32 points and bested Fordham in Madison Square Garden in Feb. of 1996. UMass last had a true road of 24 points or more over an A-10 opponent in a 59-35 win at Temple on Feb. 1, 1996.
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Rhode Island started off by making 5-of-7 shots from the field to take a 13-7 lead just under five minutes into play. Ishmael Leggett had nine of the first 13 points for the Rams and finished the day with a game-high 18 points. Rhode Island finished the first half at 27-percent from the field and ended the game by shooting 8-of-35 in the final 20 minutes.
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The Minutemen, meanwhile, knocked down three of their first five attempts from 3-point range with Keon Thompson tying it up at 14-14 with his lone attempt from deep. Thompson finished the afternoon with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-10 from the field and added six rebounds and five assists.
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The Rams missed 12 consecutive field goal attempts late in the first half as the Minutemen built a then 3-point advantage. UMass held Rhode Island to 1-of-15 from the field to end the first half as the Rams made just one field goal over the final 9:30 heading into the break. The Minutemen converted on 48-percent of shot attempts in the first half and held a 34-26 lead at halftime.
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UMass continued the defensive lockdown in the second half as Rhode Island started 0-for-4 in the second and made two of its first 10 shot attempts. Tafara Gapare gave UMass its then largest lead of the day at 42-30 with a slam dunk following an offensive rebound. Gapare ended the day with 11 points while hauling in seven rebounds to tie his career-high.
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Fellow freshman RJ Luis joined two other freshmen in double figures for UMass as he finished with 14 points on 7-of-11 from the field to go along with seven rebounds. Isaac Kante finished with nine points and eight boards while getting the start with Rahsool Diggins adding nine points off the bench.
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UMass used an 8-0 scoring run to build its first 20-plus lead of the afternoon after Luis added two more to his second half tally of 12 points over the final 20 minutes. The Minutemen led by as many as 27 points with less than a minute to go on the way to a 24-point victory.
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The Minutemen shot 52-percent from the field over the last 20 minutes and finished the day with a 46-37 rebound advantage over the Rams. Gianni Thompson hauled in a career-high six boards in 14 minutes off the bench as one of five Minutemen with five or more rebounds.
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The Minutemen return home to the Mullins Center for a Wednesday night nationally televised matchup against Dayton. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
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For complete coverage of the UMass men's basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter at @UMassMBB, on Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com
Team Stats
UMass
URI
FG%
.500
.246
3FG%
.313
.160
FT%
.571
.563
RB
46
37
TO
13
11
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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