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Small-ball lineup helps Rams beat La Salle

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Momentum? Not exactly.

Grit? Absolutely.

Fresh off its marquee win over Dayton, the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball was snowed under by La Salle’s surprising 3-point prowess in the first half of Saturday’s game and found itself trailing by 11 at the break.

The deficit grew to 14 in the second half and the comeback road was winding, but a small-ball lineup kept coming and helped the Rams gut out a 72-70 victory at the Ryan Center.

“We were searching,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “A lot like last Saturday (against George Mason), when things weren’t going our way. I kind of sat in here and said, ‘We didn’t deserve it.’ I think we learned a lesson and we just said, ‘We’re going to go with a group out there that gives us the best chance to win, regardless of if they’ve ever played together. Just get the hardest-playing guys that we have that are thinking in the right mindset.’ That group changed the game.”

Rhody lost to La Salle in overtime earlier in the month and found itself in danger of another tough one. The vibes from Wednesday carried over to the stands, but one of the largest crowds of the season at the Ryan Center had little to cheer about in the first half.

Three-point shooting has not been a strength for the Explorers this year. They came in at 32% shooting on the season, ranking 13th in the Atlantic 10.

But it was bombs away in the first 20 minutes. They made nine of 17 shots from beyond the arc and used the hot shooting to build a 40-29 halftime lead.

“Going through conference play, you know nothing is going to be really easy,” Miller said. “Tried to prepare our team that just because of what happened on Wednesday doesn’t give you the luxury of not expecting it to be hard. La Salle really has unique lineups on the floor at times and coach [Fran] Dunphy obviously knows what he’s doing.

"They cause us a lot of problems. Of any of the teams we’ve played all season, La Salle has given us the most problems in the half court.”

The Rhody defense set the stage for the rally by limiting La Salle to just a pair of 3-pointers in the second half and 31% shooting overall. Still, it was a steep climb as Rhody fell into a 60-46 hole with 10:44 left.

From there, several Rams charges were momentarily held off. There were turnovers, missed free throws and empty trips, but URI powered through all of it, thanks mostly to the unorthodox lineup. The 6-foot-6 Malik Martin played the five spot, surrounded by guards. It’s not something the Rams have practiced.

“None,” Martin said when asked about his time at the five. “[Miller] just came to me and was like, ‘We might need you to play the small-ball five.’ And I was like, ‘It’s whatever.’ It was best for us on both ends of the floor, defense and offense, because they were playing pretty small as well. It worked out.”

Trailing 64-60 with 4:44 left, the Rams finally surged with an 11-2 run. Ishmael Leggett hit a driving layup and Sebastian Thomas made a free throw. A leaner by Leggett with two minutes left gave Rhody its first lead since the early stages of the first half.

Another bucket by Leggett provided an answer to a La Salle score, and a putback by Sebastian Thomas on the break made it 69-66. Jalen Carey hit two free throws for a 71-66 lead with 43 seconds left.

“We were a small group but we played big,” Leggett said. “Just getting rebounds on defense and just pushing the pace. Defense to offense was our best thing tonight so that’s what we went with.”

It was still a white-knuckle finish as La Salle (8-13, 2-6) scored four straight points. Carey’s free throw with 14 seconds left made it 72-70 and the Explorers missed a shot in the lane. Martin grabbed the rebound with two seconds left and was fouled. He missed both, but La Salle only had time for a desperation heave that went nowhere close.

Leggett led four in double figures with 20 points. Carey had a season-high 18. Brayon Freeman scored 12 and Martin had 10 to go with seven rebounds.

The win puts Rhody at 8-13 overall and 4-5 in Atlantic 10 play. Trends have been difficult to nail down in URI’s season — and that may continue to be the case — but effort is emerging as the closest thing to a constant for the Rams.

“Some people hear rebuild, and think you can’t win year one,” Martin said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but we go into each game and each practice with the same mindset — just work hard to keep getting better and good things will happen. Can’t promise you we’re going to win the next game, but if we prepare ourselves, we’re definitely going to be in position to win the next game.”