After losing two key players early in the game, the Rhode Island Rams fell on the road to Loyola-Chicago, 81-77, Wednesday night.
URI guards Quentin Diboundje and Jamarques Lawrence suffered ankle injuries early in the first half and the Ramblers made the most of their advantage, building a 10-point lead over the next seven minutes. The Rams responded with a 15-4 run as Cam Estevez and Sebastian Thomas each scored five points and David Fuchs added four during the stretch. Fuchs made a turnaround at the halftime buzzer to give the visitors a 39-38 lead at the break.
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The Rams and Ramblers played a close second half, but Francis Nwaokorie’s 3-pointer tied the score at 63-63 with six minutes left, and Jalen DeLoach followed with a steal and dunk to give a lead of 3 to the Ramblers. Rhode Island was able to cut the lead to just one point four times in the final 4:22 remaining, but was unable to score again.
Thomas led the Rams with 20 points, six assists and three rebounds, extending his streak to seven straight games with 20 or more points. Javonte Brown had 16 points and five rebounds and Estevez matched his season high with 15 points. URI shot 66% (19-29) from the foul line, compared to Loyola at 76% (19-25). The Rams shot 47% from the field, with 6 points coming off turnovers, while Loyola shot 50% and scored 13 points off turnovers.
URI was without David Green (shoulder) for the third straight game and Tyonne Farrell (foot) missed his first game.
The Rams (13-4, 2-3 Atlantic 10) return to the Ryan Center to host Davidson at 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+).
This article was originally published in the Providence Journal: Rhode Island basketball loses to Loyola-Chicago, 81-77
