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Worcester, MA-Junior center Mike Akinrola (Woonsocket, RI) scored 19 points and sophomore forward Steve Roberts (New Haven, CT) grabbed nine rebounds as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team defeated Clark, 63-49, on Wednesday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center. |
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The Anchormen (1-1) even their record, bouncing back from a 67-53 loss to Becker on Monday night. Clark (1-1) sees its record drop back to .500 in the loss. |
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Junior forward Mason Choice (Newport, RI) contributed 10 points, six rebounds and two assists, while sophomore guard Tahrike Carter (Brooklyn, CT) registered five points, five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. |
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Akinrola and freshman center Ashton Watkins (Providence, RI) 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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, MA) 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 |
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Rhode Island College then went on to score 11 of the game's next 15 points, highlighted by junior guard Keith Hamilton's (Queens Village, NY) block and pass to senior backcourt mate Nick Manson (Newport, RI) who converted on the fast break. |
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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, MA) to cut the lead to 12 with 1:16 left, but Clark would get no closer. |
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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. |
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Vayda ended with 15 points and eight rebounds before fouling out, while Mitch Renshaw (Rutland, MA) added 12 points and a game-high three assists. |
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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. |
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In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will travel to Lasell College on Saturday, Nov. 20. |
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AKINROLA'S 19 HELPS ANCHORMEN BOUNCE BACK FROM OPENING DAY LOSS
Nov 17, 2010