Rhode Island basketball plays hard but comes up just short at Fordham
NEW YORK — Rostyslav Novitskyi's 14 points helped Fordham outlast Rhode Island, 74-71, on Saturday afternoon, a game in which a potential game-tying 3-pointer went off the rim as the final horn sounded.
Novitskyi had six rebounds and three blocks for the Bronx Rams (23-6, 11-5 Atlantic 10 Conference). Darius Quisenberry shot 3-for-13 (3-for-11 from 3-point range) and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to add 14 points. Khalid Moore shot 6-for-12, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points.
More:How to watch: No. 20 Providence basketball at Georgetown
More:After tough loss to UConn, Providence basketball needs to regroup, close out season strong
"I just thought in general the game was really won on the backboard. ... Really came down to our inability to ... limit them in the second shots," said URI coach Archie Miller, saying he was happy with his team's offensive effort, singling out the play of Sebastian Thomas and Rory Stewart.
"I got no problems with our guys. We played hard as hell. We were in a very hostile environment, one of the best environments, if not maybe the best environment we've been in all year with Fordham's crowd," Miller added.
Rhode Island (8-20, 4-12) was led in scoring by Malik Martin, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Thomas added 16 points, four assists and three steals for Rhody. In addition, Ishmael Leggett finished with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals. Rhody extended its losing streak to seven straight.
Fordham went into the half ahead of Rhode Island, 36-35. Kyle Rose put up eight points in the half. Moore led Fordham with nine points in the second half as his team outscored Rhode Island by two points over the final half.
Leggett's last-second shot from the top of the key in heavy traffic glanced off the rim.
Next up
Both teams next play on Wednesday. Fordham visits George Mason and Rhode Island visits Loyola Chicago.
RHODE ISLAND (71): Tchikou 1-4 3-4 5, Carey 2-12 5-5 9, Leggett 5-13 2-3 14, Martin 6-8 2-3 17, Thomas 5-13 4-4 16, Stewart 2-3 0-0 5, Weston 2-4 0-0 5, Hutchinson 0-0 0-0 0; totals 23-57 16-19 71. FORDHAM (23-6): Moore 6-12 0-0 14, Novitskyi 5-8 4-5 14, Quisenberry 3-13 5-6 14, Richardson 3-4 1-1 9, Rose 3-6 1-2 8, Charlton 1-4 2-2 5, Tsimbila 3-11 2-3 8, Gray 0-2 0-0 0, Riley 1-3 0-0 2, Dean 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly 0-0 0-0 0; totals 25-63 15-19 74.
Halftime — Fordham 36-35. 3-pt. goals — Rhode Island 9-16 (Martin 3-3, Leggett 2-4, Thomas 2-4, Stewart 1-1, Weston 1-2, Carey 0-2), Fordham 9-26 (Quisenberry 3-11, Richardson 2-3, Moore 2-4, Charlton 1-1, Rose 1-3, Gray 0-1, Novitskyi 0-1, Riley 0-2). Rebounds — Rhode Island 28 (Martin 8), Fordham 37 (Rose 8). Assists — Rhode Island 12 (Thomas 4), Fordham 14 (Rose, Charlton 4). Total fouls — Rhode Island 19, Fordham 17. Records — Rhode Island 8-20, Fordham 23-6. A — 1,808 (3,200).
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island basketball loses to Fordham, its seventh straight loss
