The first star of the Dan Hurley era went out with one of his finest performances of the season, tallying 21 points on 7-14 shooting (including 4-7 from three-point land, his most makes since January 25 vs. Dayton). Munford, the only scholarship senior on the Rams roster, became the fastest player in Rhode Island history to reach 1,000 career points last Saturday.
A bit of symmetry existed inside the box score last night, a sign of the changing of the guard from Munford's team this season to EC Matthews's in the future: both players finished with identical stat lines of 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Rhode Island struggled in the first half against Fordham, who's mascot is also the Rams, trailing 33-31 at the break. Munford and Matthews each had 6 points in the first half. It's no coincidence the Rhode Island rendition of the Rams was able to outplay Fordham when the dynamic duo matched each other with 15 apiece in the second frame.
Hassan Martin, fresh off his Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors, posted another double-double, with 13 points and 12 boards. He also added It was the third straight outing Martin has cracked double figures in points, and the fourth time in the last seven games he's topped 10 rebounds. Martin and Matthews won't be battling each other for rookie of the week honors for much longer; we'll be talking about A-10 Player of the Week nods soon enough.
T.J. Buchanan had perhaps the finest game of his URI career, posting a career high 14 points, to go along with 11 rebounds and 7 assists. It was his first career double-double. The last tie to the Jim Baron era picked the perfect time to have a career night, as Gilvydas Biruta was held scoreless for the first time since December 11, 2010, when he was still a freshman at Rutgers. Biruta, who fouled out, went 0-4 from the field in just 13 minutes of action, matching his lowest total of the season (vs. Metro State back in November).
Rhode Island's team defense continues to impress, as for the third time in the last five games, they were able to neutralize their opponent's leading scorer. Langston Galloway (16.6 ppg) of St. Joseph's had just 6 points (2-12 shooting) in a 61-57 win for the Hawks; Kendall Anthony (15.7 ppg) of Richmond had 8 points while shooting an astounding 2-20 from the field in a 66-43 win for Rhode Island; and the unit shone brightest last night, taking out Jon Severe (17.8 ppg) to the tune of 3 points on 1-12 shooting.
And so the Rams conclude the regular season with a 14-17 record, 5-11 in the Atlantic 10. They won three of their final four games, including a nice road win @ St. Bonaventure's, and (almost certainly) popping Richmond's bubble last Saturday at home. Considering the team won 7 and 8 games each of the last two seasons, you'll take the 14. And let's not forget what's up next:
The Atlantic 10 Tournament, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. All 13 teams from the conference qualify this season, with the 12th and 13th ranked teams facing off in a play-in game of sorts. Rhode Island avoided potentially playing in that game with last night's win, and can finish either 10th or 11th, depending on the outcome of Duquesne's final game at George Mason on Saturday. No matter where URI finishes, it is almost a certainty they will face a team they've previously beaten this season: Richmond or Dayton. So stay tuned, and look for a collaboration between Adam Stein of the UMass Basketball Report and myself on a preview of the conference tourney. Until then, Go Rhody.
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