Knights Battleground Week 10

Women’s Basketball:

With just one game on the slate for the #10 Lady Knights last week, they made sure to make the most of it. On Tuesday, November 19th, CCRI traveled to Bristol Community College for a 5:00 PM tip. The Knights had it going right away, jumping out to a 31-6 first quarter advantage. The next 4 quarters would prove to be much of the same, as CCRI was up 54-12 at halftime and went on to only let up TWO points in the entire second half, for a final score of 92-14. 

Leading the dominant performance off the bench was Jayanah Rollins, who tallied 19 points. Angelisse Melendez added 16 points and 7 assists, while Sydney Waitekus was 1 rebound shy of a double-double, pitching in 14 points and 9 rebounds. Other Knights chipped in as well, as Kelsey Hatch provided 11 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, and starter Stephanie Walker added 10 points. The Knights had 8 players score 6 or more points in the win, and every player who played attempted at least 6+ shots from the field, to go along with 23 steals in a dominant game on both sides of the ball. 

The #10 Nationally Ranked Lady Knights currently have a 4-2 record, and will have one more game before Thanksgiving against Roxbury on Tuesday, November 26th at 5:30 PM. 

Men’s Basketball:

The Knights had two tough matches on the schedule this week, as first they traveled On Tuesday November 19th, to face a Nationally Ranked Bristol Bayhawks squad. Bristol controlled the game, leading from start to finish. The Bayhawks led 49-31 at halftime on their way to a 101-74 final score. CCRI could not get any momentum going on defense and let up 101 points for the second time this year.

They were looking to bounce back on Saturday, November 23, when they hosted Springfield Technical Community College, but lost a great back and forth battle, with a final score of 89-79 in a thrilling matchup.

CCRI was led by Jayden Desimone, who was a one-man offensive force, pouring in 44 points on 13-of-30 shooting, including 7-of-14 from three-point range. He also made 11 free throws out of 14 attempts. Springfield Technical played box-and-one on him 90% of the game. Despite his stellar performance, the rest of the team struggled to find their rhythm. Logan Voelker contributed 10 points and 6 rebounds, and Devante Abney chipped in 13, but the team's overall shooting performance was lackluster, as they made only 24 of 68 shots (35.3%) from the field. They also struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 11-of-32 three-point attempts (34%). 

Despite not playing their best, the Knights only lost by 10 points, and sit at an average 3-4 record. They will have one more chance to get into the win column before Thanksgiving, as they travel on Tuesday November 26th to face Roxbury Community College at 7:30 PM. 

Player Spotlight: Jayanah Rollins (WBB)

Rollins, a Freshman Guard, is averaging 9.8 points 3.7 rebounds, and 3.1 steals on 44% off the bench so far this season for the Lady Knights, providing a consistent spark for both the offense and defensive end. In the Knights most recent game, Rollins led the team in scoring for the first time this season with 19 points on 8 for 14 shooting. Rollins also put up a team high 7 steals in the win, bringing her total to 19 steals through 6 games. 

Honorable mention: Jayden Desimone: The Player spotlight of last week, Desimone followed up a dominant week with a 44 point performance against Springfield Technical Community College, highlighted by his 7 threes, and drawing 11 points from free throws, good for a 13 of 30 shooting performance in a loss. 

CCRI ATHLETICS SNEAKER DRIVE

CCRI Athletics is partnering up with EmpowerThroughPlay this December with a goal collect 100+ pairs of shoes for their next mission. Empower Through Play is a non-profit organization that specializes in providing inspiration, support, development, and hope to children and adolescents in communities with lacking resources.

To Donate, there will be boxes located in Field House offices at the Flanagan and Knight Campuses from DECEMBER 1ST - DECEMBER 14TH! All Donations including Cleats, Sneakers, Boots, Sandals, Slippers, and any other type of shoe will be accepted, as well as sports equipment, such as balls, gear, PPE, or jerseys.

Don’t forget to post a picture on your Instagram story with your donation, and tag @ccriathletics and @empowerthroughplay to be featured on our page!