SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Tuesday night served as a harsh reminder for the University of Rhode Island men. 

Your best is required each time an Atlantic 10 regular-season title contender comes to town, and the Rams fell far short of that standard against VCU. The visitors kept pace with the league’s top echelon while the hosts missed a chance to break free from the crowded middle of the standings. 

URI committed a grisly 27 turnovers and saw whatever hopes it carried for a signature win melt away in the second half. VCU stormed to the finish thanks to a pair of deciding runs and posted an 81-57 victory, a sequence of events that had most of the 4,517 fans on hand heading back into the frigid night long before the final horn. 

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Not since at least the start of the 2010-11 season has URI given the ball away in a single game so frequently. VCU set a new Ryan Center record with 17 steals and racked up 30 points off takeaways. The visitors ripped off bursts of 13-3 and 15-0 in the second half that transformed a 42-40 edge into a blowout. 

“We were mentally weak,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “Physically weak. And we got outplayed by a better team tonight in this building. Where we go from here is the next most important thing.  

“Our team has to be way, way better.” 

VCU managed just two points in the opening 6:22 of the second half, and URI seemed to have an unlikely opening after trailing through the majority. Max Shulga’s two free throws and Zeb Jackson’s following layup after a Flagrant 1 foul against David Green put URI in trouble, and VCU slammed the window shut by the 10:35 mark. Joe Bamisile’s pair of baskets in the paint gave his team a 55-43 advantage, and URI was never within two possessions again. 

“For a long stretch of the game it kind of felt like, ‘Man, I don’t know how we’re involved in a one-possession game with how we were playing,’” Miller said. “But eventually they cracked us. They were superior in this game tonight.  

“I will take full responsibility for our team sort of laying a dud. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game that’s had 27 turnovers.” 

Those mistakes eventually led to the knockout punch, as Jack Clark’s 3-pointer and a driving layup by Bamisile came off URI turnovers. Miller called timeout staring at a 69-48 deficit with 5:36 left, and the hosts suffered through an 8:33 stretch with just one field goal. Sebastian Thomas finally snapped the spell with a layup, but that finish at the rim only dragged URI within 19 points. 

“We didn’t have the ability to be physical, get open, box out, pop to catch,” Miller said. “They forced us to the baseline. They ran through passes. Everything we did in terms of getting it in was, ‘Thank goodness. Now bring it up.’  

“We just had one of those games where we were overwhelmed by the other team’s approach, effort, toughness. They do what they do, and they’ve done that in every game. No one has been dismantled like this tonight, and that’s on me. That’s on us.” 

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VCU (15-4, 5-1 Atlantic 10) carried a top-25 defense into this matchup per KenPom.com, and it traveled exceptionally well. URI (14-5, 3-4) managed 19 fewer shot attempts and saw all five of its starters finish with a plus-minus rating of at least minus-14. The hosts reached double-digit turnovers by the 7:48 mark of the first half and blew past the 21 they committed in a double-overtime loss at Brown. 

“You start to press,” Miller said. “You start to get tight. You start to get a little bit anxious to get that turnover back at the other end. You take a tough shot. You throw it away a couple times, the crowd starts to moan – you feel that.  

“You need to have a calming effect.” 

Shulga’s reverse layup on the break gave VCU a 33-15 lead late in the first half before URI enjoyed its best stretch of the game. The hosts cut the deficit all the way to 35-34 on a layup by Jaden House, connecting on seven straight shots in less than three minutes after opening 5-for-17. Jackson’s two-hand slam down the middle built a 40-34 lead into the break, and URI was unable to muster another meaningful run over the final 20 minutes. 

“We didn’t step up to the plate tonight,” Miller said. “Where you go from here is the next most important thing.” 

VCU (81): Luke Bamgboye 3-3 0-2 6, Phillip Russell 1-6 2-2 5, Jack Clark 5-8 0-0 12, Max Shulga 4-12 6-7 15, Joe Bamisile 10-18 2-2 24, Christian Fermin 0-0 0-0 0, Zeb Jackson 4-10 2-4 11, Michael Belle 0-4 0-0 0, Brandon Jennings 1-3 1-2 3, Alphonzo Billups III 1-3 0-0 3, Terrence Hill Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Obinnaya Okafor 0-1 2-2 2; Totals 29-68 15-21 81.  

RHODE ISLAND (57): David Green 3-10 1-2 8, Javonte Brown 0-0 0-2 0, Sebastian Thomas 7-12 3-6 19, Jaden House 6-13 1-1 15, Jamarques Lawrence 2-6 2-3 8, Cam Estevez 0-2 1-3 1, Drissa Traore 0-1 1-2 1, David Fuchs 0-0 2-2 2, Quentin Diboundje 1-5 0-0 3; Totals 19-49 11-21 57. 

Halftime – VCU, 40-34. 3-pointers – VCU 8-27 (Russell 1-5, Clark 2-5, Shulga 1-3, Bamisile 2-6, Jackson 1-3, Belle 0-2, Billups 1-3), RI 8-23 (Green 1-5, Thomas 2-4, House 2-5, Lawrence 2-4, Estevez 0-2, Traore 0-1, Diboundje 1-2). Rebounds – VCU 42 (Bamgboye 9), RI 34 (Fuchs 9). Assists – VCU 10 (Shulga 3), RI 6 (House 2). 

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25