Knights Battleground Week 18
Men’s Basketball’s falls to Northern Essex despite 30-point effort from Logan Voelker, #9 Women’s Basketball goes perfect in back-to-back
Men’s Basketball:
The Knights had just one game on the schedule this week, a tough matchup away against the top seeded Northern Essex Knights on Saturday, January 25th. In their previous matchup in November, Rhode Island lost in a 25 point margin, and were looking to turn the tides in this late season matchup. The game started out busy defensively, and both teams navigated their offense to trade buckets, and by the time the first half was over, Northern Essex was clinging to a 40-33 lead. The second half was back and forth as well, as CCRI remained poised despite facing one of the best teams in the region. Logan Voelker stepped up for his second 30+ point scoring outing of the season, finishing with 32 points and 12 rebounds on 13 of 18 shooting, but it would prove to be too much for CCRI, falling 77-70 to NECC.
Men’s Basketball has two games on the schedule this upcoming week, as first they travel to Bunker Hill for a 7:30 PM start on Thursday, January 30th, and then return home for a game against Roxbury Community College on February 1st, at 3:00 PM.
Women’s Basketball:
Following a loss to Framingham State on January 18th, the #9 Nationally Ranked Lady Knights were set to play a back-to-back this upcoming week, first traveling to Northern Essex Community College on Saturday, January 25th, followed by a home game against Southern Maine on Sunday, January 26th.
The Knights got out to an early lead once again this time around against Northern Essex, jumping out to a 22-14 advantage to begin the game. The lead swelled to 15 at halftime for Rhode Island. The Knights were able to maintain their double-digit lead until the fourth quarter, where a 29-13 run platooned Rhode Island to a 83-51 victory. Sophomore Stephanie Walker posted a monster game, recording a 21 point 24 rebound double-double to lead all scorers for CCRI. Sophomore Angelisse Melendez added 17 points and 9 assists, while teammate Sydney Waitekus chipped in 15 points and 6 rebounds.
The next day, the Knights had a 1 PM start in Warwick against Southern Maine Community College, who they had previously beaten 79-60 earlier this month. After a tightly contested first quarter, the Knights led 22-16, and then a 19-6 second quarter run ignited the tank for CCRI. In the second half Rhode Island was able to continue building on their lead behind a stellar defensive effort. CCRI would win the game 86-43 and improve to 15-4 on the season. Angelisse Melendez led the way with 25 points on 7 three-pointers for the Lady Knights.
Women’s Basketball will travel to Bunker Hill for a game Thursday, January 30th at 5:30 PM, and then return home against Roxbury Community College on Saturday, February 1st at 1:00 PM.