SOUTH KINGSTOWN — This won’t go down as one of the crisper performances in Dan Hurley’s tenure at the University of Rhode Island.
But it will certainly be a day his program’s fans celebrate, another determined effort by a group of Rams that is on a run like few others in program history.
This time it was Stanford Robinson’s turn to be the hero. His corner 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded made the difference as No. 24 URI rallied past upset-minded Duquesne, 61-58, at a sold-out Ryan Center.
The Rams dribbled down the final 28.6 seconds in a 58-58 game, with Jeff Dowtin eventually finding Robinson in front of the home team’s bench. His shot was pure from the moment if left his fingertips, and Robinson disappeared among a crowd of celebrating teammates and URI staff members just outside the paint.
“If Jeff had the shot, he was going to take it,” Robinson said. “If someone was open, he was going to pass it. That simple.”
The Rams erased a 15-point deficit with 16:14 left to steal this one, extending their program records for consecutive conference wins (17) and Ryan Center victories (13). It was URI’s 12th straight victory overall, the longest run in 70 years, and the Rams required all 40 minutes to make it happen.
“We’ve got a huge target on us,” Hurley said. “You’re playing every two or three days. It’s a grind. You’ve got to be able to will yourself through it.”
Robinson was just 2-for-6 from the field before his winning shot, and it was another URI lefthander who put him in position to steal the headlines. E.C. Matthews seemed the more likely option after the display he produced in the second half, pouring in 14 of his team’s 18 points during one stretch and personally accounting for three of the game’s five ties. Matthews nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to make it a 58-52 game with 2:47 left, the last of his game-high 20 points.
“I just needed one to go in,” Matthews said. “My teammates and Coach Hurley kept telling me to shoot. We knew we were going to win the game.”
“I thought E.C. Matthews, in the second half, just took over and put a Superman cape on and made huge shots,” Hurley said. “That’s hard to do. That’s the sign of a clutch player.”
It seemed at times like super powers would be required to overcome the determined Dukes (14-8, 5-4), who held the Rams to 31 percent shooting in the first half. It was the third-worst performance by URI in its 40 halves of basketball this season, and Duquense didn’t let up after the break. Rene Castro-Caneddy’s layup made it a 40-27 game with 15:03 left, an 11-4 run out of the locker room that included just one field goal by the Rams.
“Besides maybe Saint Louis on the road (a 72-65 win on Jan. 9), this was the first time where we had to play down the stretch,” Hurley said. “It was more typical of a conference game for us.”
URI (17-3, 9-0) finally sparked itself to life behind a pair of reserve guards. Jarvis Garrett and Fatts Russell changed the mood of the 7,432 patrons on hand with some defensive energy off the bench, as the Rams accounted for 10 of their 15 points off turnovers in the second half. Russell and Garrett combined for six straight points to cap a 9-0 run, and URI suddenly had a more manageable 40-36 deficit to erase with 10:20 to play.
“I saw from the bench the starting five had a slow start the first half and the second half,” Garrett said. “Coach called my number and I just did my job.”
“Coming off a win – an emotional win at home – it gives me the ammunition I need the next couple days before we play whoever we play next to tighten things up,” Hurley said. “We got the win, and that feels great, but we’ve got some stuff we’ve got to fix.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25