Knights Battleground Week 20
UConn-Avery Point pushed both the Men's and Women's basketball teams in two tightly contested matchups
Women’s Basketball:
Coming into the week 17-5 overall, Women’s basketball had just one game this week on Saturday, February 8th against Region XXI’s #2 seed, Uconn-Avery Point, who brought a 9-1 record into the matchup.
Right away, Rhode Island was able was able to get out to an early lead behind the offense of Angelisse Melendez (22 Points) and Tatiana Pereira (18 Points). The Knights needed to take full advantage of this double-digit lead and were able to keep the lead headed into halftime. During the third quarter, UConn Avery Point was able to break down the Rhode Island defense, scoring 26 in the quarter as opposed to scoring just 26 the entire first half. UConn was able to tie the game headed to the fourth. A strong effort down low from Stephanie Walker (13 points, 16 rebounds), led to multiple second chance opportunies for the Knights to knock down big shots, as they were able to steal a 70-67 victory over Avery Point.
The Knights remain the #1 seed in the region, and #9 in the Nation headed into the middle of February. They will take on Holyoke Community College at home Tuesday, February 11th at 7:30 PM in Warwick.
Men’s Basketball:
The Knights traveled to UConn Avery-Point in a meaningful matchup for the Region XXI standings. CCRI entered the game as the region’s 6th seed, and UConn the 8th seed, as both teams look to make a late season push for the postseason.
Rhode Island’s offense came out flat, unable to hit many shots from outside the arc. UConn big Trevor Buchanan dominated down low, scoring most of his game high 35 points in the paint, and helped UConn build a 42-29 lead headed into halftime. The Knights did not give up, as a plethora of threes from Jayden Desimone (28 points) and Devante Abney (17 points) lead Rhode Island back into the game. Unfortunately CCRI was not able to withstand the physicality of the game, leading to three different Knights fouling out of the game, leading to a close loss, 95-87.
The Knights fell to 7-10, good for 7th in the region, and are a full game back of 6th place Roxbury for the final playoff seed. The Knights will makeup a game from last Thursday against Quinsigamond this Tuesday, February 11th at 5:30 PM in Warwick. CCRI will take on MassBay Community College at home Thursday at 7PM and will then travel to take on Springfield Technical Saturday at 2 PM in two games that can likely determine the season for Rhode Island.