Rhode Island basketball’s Sebastian Thomas plays the hero against George Mason. Here’s how

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Saturday afternoon saw Sebastian Thomas add another chapter to what is becoming a remarkable personal story in this 2024-25 men’s college basketball season.

The former star at Bishop Hendricken and Providence native has been Mr. Clutch for the University of Rhode Island, and so it was again with George Mason in town for the home Atlantic 10 opener.

Thomas dribbled, faded and nailed an off-balance jumper along the right baseline with 0.9 seconds left to electrify the Ryan Center yet again. The Rams slipped past the Patriots, 62-59, in a game where they trailed for nearly 30 minutes.

URI opted not to use a timeout after inbounding with 11.7 seconds left, and Thomas took a backcourt handoff from Jamarques Lawrence up the right sideline. He waved off any potential screening action and attacked Brayden O’Connor 1-on-1, creating some daylight just before falling out of bounds.

More: RI native Sebastian Thomas a driving force in Rams’ basketball victory over Friars

Thomas floated a shot that caught nothing but net and drew a foul, a conventional three-point play that snapped a 59-59 tie.

“I knew we were going to get the last shot,” Thomas said. “I definitely wanted the ball. I think my teammates trust me with the ball.”

Thomas helped drop Providence and Temple in previous games with 3-point daggers inside the final minute. This bucket and the ensuing missed full-court heave by O’Conner allowed the Rams to bounce back from a wretched road loss at Duquesne on New Year’s Eve. URI faced a 12-point hole early after a third straight ineffective half of offense, but Thomas and a revamped lineup took command just in time to win a fifth straight league home opener.

“He’s the ultimate gamer right now,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “Confident. Bailed us out there.”

Thomas floated home a soft jumper in the lane with 2:58 left to make it a 56-54 game, the first lead for the Rams since the 12:31 mark of the opening half. URI generated a couple key defensive stops and received another bucket at a critical time from an unlikely source. Quentin Diboundje beat the shot clock with a jumper from the left elbow with 23.5 seconds to play, and the Rams opened a 59-56 advantage.

“That was all the coach, right?” Miller quipped. “I give him credit. He’s been on the back burner. It’s been a 50-50 tossup for a long time about how we incorporate him.”

O’Conner slashed off the left wing for a conventional three-point play to answer, but URI opted against calling a timeout after the made free throw. Miller already had Thomas on the ball and didn’t want George Mason to switch defenses in its huddle. It was a decision that ultimately helped the Rams match the 9-0 start in Kingston they enjoyed during a special 2017-18 campaign.

“Find a way to score so we can win the game,” Thomas said. “I’ve been in that position a few times this year, and it’s worked for me.”

URI (12-2, 1-1 Atlantic 10) grinded its way back even thanks to some defensive energy. David Green’s steal in the lane led to a Diboundje layup in transition down the left side with 4:30 to play. Javonte Brown’s blocked shot – one of his career-high six – sent Thomas down the left side for a layup that made it 54-54 with 3:53 left, and the Patriots (10-5, 1-1) were forced to use a timeout.

“The message at halftime wasn’t basketball as much as it was our togetherness – to shake us up,” Miller said. “We had to give each other more energy. We had to have a little bit of spirit.”

URI celebrates its comeback victory over George Mason at the Ryan Center

Sebastian Thomas makes a final-seconds shot and hits the free-throw to seal the Rams comeback over Atlantic 10 rival George Mason on Saturday afternoon

It was the first appearance for Diboundje since some late minutes in a Nov. 24 blowout of Charleston, as the Rams juggled their rotation after a 67-55 stinker against the Dukes. Miller went a step further in the second half, putting Tyonne Farrell on the bench for the final 15:46 and Cam Estevez alongside him for the last 10:13. Thomas, Lawrence, Diboundje, Green, Brown, Jaden House and David Fuchs were the primary seven who limited George Mason to 1-for-8 from 3-point range, cobbled together a 9-2 scoring advantage off nine turnovers and pressured the paint to the tune of a plus-11 margin in made free throws.

“We just had to get back to our basics – Rhode Island basketball,” Brown said. “Playing physical and moving side to side.”

URI was fortunate to trail by just nine at the break, suffering through a field goal drought of 10:23 and finding itself on the wrong end of a 15-0 run. Brown’s putback with 5:27 left earned a sarcastic cheer from a crowd of 5,803 fans, a gathering whose mood had turned 180 degrees by the stretch run. The Patriots finished just 9-for-18 from the stripe, including a 1-for-7 start to the second half.

“We really didn’t have any business winning that game for a long period in the first half,” Miller said. “It could have gotten away from us.”

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25