Providence native Sebastian Thomas closed the door on PC at the Ryan Center (Photo: URI Athletics)
By KEVIN McNAMARA
SOUTH KINGSTOWN – For the longest stretches of the annual Providence-URI passion play at the Ryan Center on Saturday, it looked like Bryce Hopkins’ return would once again steal the thunder.
Sebastian Thomas and the unbeaten Rams had other ideas.
Hopkins did his best to carry the Friars in his second game since returning from off-season knee surgery but down the stretch things turned Keaney Blue. Thomas, the Providence native whose first tour of duty in Kingston was a dud, continued his magical return campaign by closing out the Friars in a 69-63 Rhody victory. Thomas made a key steal with 53 seconds left and then nailed a 22-foot dagger over Hopkins that ended the Friars’ hopes.
Thomas finished with 19 points, 17 of which came in a dominating second half. He also handed out four assists and had two steals. David Green scored two monster lefty hooks in the paint in crunch time on his way to 12 points and 8 rebounds. Jaden House carried the Rams in the first half and finished with 18 points.
The Rams will carry a 9-0 record, their best start in 77 years, to the East Side on Tuesday against Brown.
The Friars, who dropped to 6-4, only have themselves to blame in this one. PC led 35-28 at the half after handcuffing Thomas and holding the Rams to 34 percent shooting. The lead easily could’ve been larger but that all changed in the second half. URI started quickly with Thomas scoring a few quick hoops but a spurt led by Hopkins and Bensley Joseph (16 points) had the Friars up 46-38 with 14:07 left.
That’s when things started going sideways. A Thomas 3-pointer was followed by a Joseph foul as the ball went in the hoop. URI retained the ball and secured the 5-point trip with a David Fuchs jam on a perfect lob pass by Thomas. When Fuchs scored again the next time down PC’s lead was down to 46-45.
PC’s last lead came at 55-54 with 5:44 left. Thomas breezed past Joseph for a score and then Joseph missed the front end of a one-and-one. Two free throws and a lane drive by House gave the Rams a 60-55 lead and the Friars were on the ropes.
Kim English chose to go with a center-less lineup at that point and a Hopkins slam cut the deficit to 60-59. But Archie Miller countered with getting the ball to Green twice in a row and the crafty lefty hooked shots over Jabri Abdur-Rahim twice while PC missed a shot and Hopkins turned it over.
“URI did some great things. They played tough, they played physical and did a great job on the offensive glass,” English said. “We turned it over late in the game which obviously hurt us but we didn’t deserve to win.”
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The team that did was dressed in blue and white. The crowd of 7,685 pushed the home team when it needed and it had to be karma when the kid from Providence stepped up when his team needed him most.
“This feels amazing, especially how the game was going,” Thomas said. “They had momentum most of the game. We stepped up and made some big-time plays.”
Asked about the confidence he displayed splashing a 3-pointer with just 24 seconds left and his team clinging to a 64-61 lead, Thomas could only smile.
“That felt good,” Thomas said. “Coming into the season I wanted to shoot the three more and shoot it better. I think being at Albany last year helped my confidence. My first two years I wouldn’t have shot that shot. I’m glad I developed my confidence. Now my confidence is at an all-time high and I’m making shots like that.”
Miller, a former point guard at North Carolina State, can’t hide his praise for Thomas. He’s the straw that stirs the drink and when he couldn’t get things going early, the Rams struggled. But the second half was another story as the Rams shot 51 percent from the floor and scored a whopping 22 points in the paint. Taking a lead from the game’s best guard is translating into Rhody finding new ways to win.
“Learning to win is a hard thing to do,” Miller said. “Everything starts and stops with point guard play. When you have a point guard who can make a play for himself and others it makes things a lot easier. We were able to finish (games) at home, which you have to do to have a great season. It’s the mark of a together team.”
The Friars own that look in fits and starts as it’s still clear they are not a together unit. That may come with more experience with Hopkins but missing 9-of-10 threes and 5-of-10 free throws in the second half showed they have a ways to go. PC got essentially nothing in the final 20 minutes from important pieces like Christ Essandoko, Wesley Cardet, Corey Floyd and Jabri Abdur-Rahim. That’s not going to translate to winning Big East games, a schedule that begins next week at DePaul.
“We are still learning the value of possessions,” English said. “We have to flush this and we have to get better.”
