Knights Battleground Week 17

#9 Women’s Basketball routs Holyoke, Men’s Basketball starts off New Year with huge home win, and more.

Knights Battleground Week 17

Women’s Basketball:  

The 9th-ranked Lady Knights (12-3) returned to action Thursday, January 16th against Holyoke Community College as the first game of a Men’s and Women’s double header. The Lady Knights would come out and play fast-paced offense and lockdown defense to start the quarter, and did not look back. Scoring 50 points in the half and holding Holyoke 8 points in the first half, with only allowing one basket in the second quarter. Coming out of the half the Lady Knights kept the same game plan that they had in the first half and would continue to score 20+ in the third and fourth quarter. While still holding Holyoke’s offense to less than 10 points a quarter. The Knights would end up winning in dominate fashion 93-23. Two players for the Knights recorded 20+ points, Jayanah Rollins was the leading scorer with 23 points. Angelisse Melendez would record 20 points off the bench, and Sydney Waitekus would record a 15-point double-double with 10 rebounds.  

The 9th ranked Knights (13-3) traveled to play Framingham State University on January 18th for a non-conference game at 12:00PM. To begin the game the Knights looked to be stagnant on offense as they would only score 9 points in the first quarter. But in the second quarter the Knights picked up their offense production by scoring 20 points in the second quarter and going into the half within 2 against Framingham State. The Knights would have a late push in the 4th quarter, but it was too little too late as Framingham would end up winning 66-59. Angelisse Melendez would be the team’s leading scorer with 17 points on the day. Stephanie Walker would be responsible for a 13-point, 12 rebound double-double.  

The 9th ranked Lady Knights will be back in action Saturday January, 25th at 12:00PM against Region XXI conference opponent, Northern Essex Community College.   

Men’s Basketball:  

The Knights went into the New Year with a 6-6 record, looking to break above .500 for the first time since starting the beginning of the season. On the schedule to start the second half of the season was a home game against Holyoke Community College on Thursday, January 16th, followed by an away matchup against Region XXI’s top seeded Quincy College on Saturday, January 18th.   

The Knights also added a notable piece to their lineup before the game Thursday, as second year starter Kobe Fife returned after missing the first half of the season. He made an immediate impact for the Knights, as they came out against Holyoke clicking on all cylinders. The Knights were able to pull away from the Cougars mid-way through the first half, building a 10-point advantage and never looking back from there. The Knights headed into half up 46-32 behind a solid first half effort. The second half was more of the same for Rhode Island, with their defensive pressure becoming too much for Holyoke to handle. Behind 14 three pointers, the Knights were able to add to their commanding lead and win the game 96-60. All 5 Knights starters recorded double figures in the win. Returning Starter Kobe Fife led the team in scoring with 21 points, making 8 of 13 shot attempts to go along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. Connor Chambers added a double-double, going 5 of 6 from the field, good for 11 points and 17 rebounds as well as 3 assists and 3 steals. Rhode Island’s leading scorer Jayden Desimone chipped in 17 points and 6 rebounds on 7 of 17 shooting. Other starters, Logan Voelker (13 points, 3 3PM), and Davante Abney (15 points, 5 3PM) combined for 8 of Rhode Island's 14 made threes in the win. 

Rhode Island traveled Saturday to face 13-2 Quincy College, which would prove to be a test of the Knights progress. Earlier in the season on November 12th, the Knights fell to Quincy at home 101-62, which was by far the largest loss of the season. This time around, the Knights were able to keep the game within reach, thanks to a 22-point effort from Kobe Fife. Ultimately, Quincy’s offense was just too much for Rhode Island to stop, and despite efforts from Logan Voelker (10 points) and Connor Chambers (9 Points), the Knights lost 78-60, and head into next week carrying a 7-7 record.  

The Knights have just one matchup this coming week on Saturday, January 25th at 2:00 PM against Region XXI’s #2 seed Northern Essex.