Worcester, Mass. – The Rhode Island College interior combination of Mike Akinrola (Woonsocket, R.I.) and Ashton Watkins (Providence, R.I.) scored 27 points on 12-for-19 shooting and the visiting Anchormen came away with a 63-49 win over Clark University in non-league men's basketball action on Wednesday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center.
Akinrola and Watkins helped RIC control the glass - outrebounding the Cougars 40-23 – including 18 caroms on the offensive end which helped them collect 12 second chance points.
The game, which was a rematch of a meeting last year that saw Rhode Island College escape with a 74-72 win, and featured a pair of teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, never lived up to the pregame hype as the Anchormen led by as many as 20 in the second half.
The Cougars actually led by five in the opening moments of the game and the contest stayed close until RIC ended the half on a 10-2 run on the strength of three layups and four free throws.
Clark, meanwhile, struggled offensively, going a little more than six minutes without a made basket as the first half ended and the second half began. When Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) finally converted an inside hoop and the subsequent free throw at the 16:56 mark of the second half, the Anchormen edge stood at 38-29.
Rhode Island College then went on to score 11 of the game's next 15 points, highlighted by Keith Hamilton's block and pass to Nick Manson (Newport, R.I.) who converted on the fast break.
The lead grew to its peak at 20 on a couple of occasions in the second half, the last time being 58-38 with 8:13 remaining. The Cougars mounted a brief rally behind D.J. Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) to cut the lead to 12 with 1:16 left, but Clark would get no closer.
The Anchormen made 44 percent of their shots, while the Cougars connected on just 40 percent of their attempts, including an icy 34 percent (8-for-23) in the second half.
Akinrola finished with a game-high 19 points and six rebounds, while Mason Choice (Newport, R.I.) added 10 points and six boards as well.
Vayda ended with 15 points and eight rebounds before fouling out, while Mitch Renshaw (Rutland, Mass.) added 12 points and a game-high three assists.
Both squads got decent production off their bench, with Watkins posting eight points in just 10 minutes for RIC and Bailey tallying eight of his own in 12 minutes of action.
Up next for Rhode Island College (1-1) is a Saturday matchup with Lasell College, while the Cougars travel to Pennsylvania to take part in the Equinox Classic. They will face Swarthmore on Friday before tipping off with Haverford on Saturday.