Rhode Island rivalry shows great life
KINGSTON, R.I. – It’s not exactly Duke-North Carolina, or Louisville-Kentucky; for that matter, it’s not Michigan-Michigan State or Cincinnati-Louisville. But when Providence and Rhode Island match up, it’s sure to be a ballgame and the crowd will certainly be into it.
Two years ago, the Friars played their first game in Kingston in 31 years and their first at the Ryan Center. A snowstorm blanketed much of New England, including Rhode Island, but a packed house came to see the Rams pick up their second straight win in the series at the time. A crowd just as lively came for Saturday’s game, and it had the atmosphere of a big-time rivalry game right from the get-go. Two 3-1 teams that have started the season well would have at it in a rivalry game, one deserving of such a crowd. Most got what they wanted, as the Rams came through with a 77-69 win.
You could feel it on every play, from the loud cheers every time the Rams took the lead in the second half to the back-and-forth with the Providence fans who made the trip to South County. When the Rams went up 53-48 and forced a timeout with 14:03 left in the game, the noise in the Ryan Center was almost deafening, and it was even louder when the Rams got a charge on the Friars with 54.3 seconds left while holding a 71-67 lead.
The game had the feel of a rivalry game in the way it was played as well. The first half went back and forth, though the Friars led for much of it after Rhode Island scored the first six points of the game. Foul trouble mounted for the Rams, but they stayed close thanks to the play of Jamaal Wise (11 points, five rebounds) and 11 second-chance points.
“The way the game was played in the first half, you knew it was probably going to be a basket-for-basket game,” said Providence head coach Tim Welsh.
The second half was similar, until Dawan Robinson and the Rams took over near the end. In the final two minutes, Robinson scored 11 of his 18 points and drew a key charge on defense to take the Rams from a 67-65 deficit to the victory.
The Rams didn’t just get the big effort from Robinson and 17 points (tying a career high) from Wise. Will Daniels (14 of his 18 points in the second half) helped them turn the game around early in the second half when he got some mismatches and turned them into easy scores. Daniels took over early, much like Robinson did at the end: he scored 12 of the Rams’ first 15 points, and he assisted on Robinson’s three-pointer that accounted for the other points. J.R. Moore, who has had inconsistent minutes in his first two years, gave them a good lift inside with six points and five rebounds off the bench.
“I thought that we need to use him, and I thought he did a couple of things down the stretch, especially defensively and rebounding the basketball, played very physical, very aggressive,” said head coach Jim Baron.
There was inspired ball on both sides, with players making tough shots, big plays one right after the other, and the game had a number of ties and lead changes. No team ever led by a double-digit margin. The Rams scored a season-high 77 points, which is more than they scored in any game last season, and it even prompted Baron to joke about it.
“To score 77 points, we better bottle that!” he remarked.
In short, Saturday’s game was college basketball at its finest. It was a game of well-played basketball: execution at both ends being the keys, no vying for the highlight reels, and a big-time atmosphere.
“This is just a fabulous atmosphere for college basketball,” said Baron, who thanked the more than 7,200 fans who showed up.
It isn’t one of the hailed rivalries of college basketball, but it’s clearly a good one and not just for the tiny state of Rhode Island.
