Rhody Bounces Back, Halts Undefeated Houston

Rhode Island used stifling defense on the perimeter, holding Houston to well under its scoring average in a 67-57 win at the Ryan Center on Tuesday night.  It was the first loss for the Cougars this season, as they entered the game with a 5-0 mark.  

Trailing by one (7-6) less than four minutes into the ballgame, Rhody rattled off seven unanswered points - capped by a Jared Terrell 3-pointer - to take a 13-7 lead with 12:31 to play.  URI would reach a double-digit advantage after a trey from Four McGlynn with 1:04 to left in the period and took a 33-21 edge at the break after Nicola Akele tipped in a miss as time expired.

In the second half, the Rams extended their lead to as many as 14, after a steal and a transition bucket from Terrell made it 53-39 with 6:31 to play.  Houston switched up its defense and began to chip away at the Rhody advantage, cutting it to four points - 58-54 - with 2:20 to go.  The Rams knocked down 7-of-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win and close out the four-game homestand with a 3-1 mark.

Inside the Box Score

• It was another balanced scoring night, as four Rams reached double figures and all eight players that saw action scored.
• Hassan Martin led the Rams with 14 points (7-10 FG), while tallying five rebounds, two blocks, and a career-high four assists in 33 minutes.
• Jared Terrell added 12 points and three boards in 34 minutes.  The Rams are now 17-2 all-time when he scores 11 or more points in a game.
• Kuran Iverson shot 5-for-7 from the floor, good for 11 points.  Iverson also corralled a team-high seven rebounds and blocked two shots.
• Jarvis Garrett did most of his damage in the second half, limited to just four minutes of play due to first foul trouble.  He scored 11 points and dished out three assists (one turnover).
• Rhody shot 56.0% (14-25 FG) from the floor in the first half and ended up at 50.0% for the game (26-52).
• For the third time in four games, URI had a positive assist/turnover ratio.  The Rams dished out 12 assists and committed nine turnovers.  It was also the third game with single-digit turnovers over the last four games.
• The Rams' defense held a high-scoring Houston team to its lowest-scoring half of the season - 21 points in the first half.  Prior to that, UH's lowest single-half point total had been 21.  
• Houston hit just one 3-pointer on the night. Entering the game, the Cougars were averaging eight makes from long range.

Stat of the Game, pt. I
-33.8 - The Cougars entered tonight's game averaging 90.8 points per game.  Rhode Island held them close to 34 points below their season scoring average.

Stat of the Game, pt. II
38:47 - Rhody led for a majority of tonight's game, with Houston holding a one-point edge for just :41 seconds.  The score was tied just once - at 6-6.

What's Next
Rhode Island will play its first true road game of the season when it heads to Lincoln, Neb. to face Nebraska on Sunday, Dec. 13.  The Rams and Huskers will tipoff at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) and the game will air live online on ESPN3.com.

The Rhody Sports Network will air the game live on B101 (101.5 FM), with Steve McDonald and Don Kaull. The pre-game show begins 30 minutes before tipoff.