This was not the kind of history Rhode Island men’s basketball was looking to make

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — There’s not much precedent for what took place Thursday night at the Ryan Center. 

New Hampshire had counted just three men’s basketball road victories against the University of Rhode Island since the series began in March 1906. Two of those occurred prior to the start of World War II. 

The Rams made the wrong kind of history while dropping their fifth straight, and they’re now staring at a sub-.500 finish in nonconference play after winning five of their first seven. The Wildcats never trailed in the second half while locking up an 81-71 victory. 

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Clarence Daniels was the best player on the floor over the course of 40 minutes, and his teammates followed the left-hander’s lead. He pumped in a game-high 27 points and helped spark a perimeter attack that closed 13-for-24 from 3-point range. New Hampshire outscored URI by 24 points from beyond the arc, the widest difference on a stat sheet that ultimately tipped this one for the visitors. 

More: Rhode Island still winless on the road. Here’s what happened vs. Delaware on Long Island.

“I apologize to our fans,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “I apologize to everybody who’s important in our program.  

“We’ve lost a few games — I get it. We’re just not operating with the fight, the toughness, the commitment level, the belief that we need. Meshing this group in the nonconference has been difficult.  

“I also feel like we’re a much better team than we’ve played. We’ve lost some games to teams who have more experience or more of a veteran crew out there.” 

URI connected on a pair of early shots from deep to force the only tie of the second half. Luis Kortright hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and curled along the baseline before finding Cam Estevez in the left corner for another jumper. It was 41-41 with 16:52 to play and the Rams seemed to be building momentum. 

The Wildcats spent the majority of the next seven minutes scuttling those hopes. Rory Stewart’s turnover led to a transition Naim Miller 3-pointer on the right wing and forced a URI timeout. Ahmad Robinson stepped back from the left wing for another jumper and it was suddenly 62-49 with 9:39 to play. 

“You can see a front-runner a mile away,” Miller said. “When things are going well, everything is going well. The minute things don’t go well, you can get them.” 

Zek Montgomery’s layup with 4:38 left made it a 71-65 game, but Daniels responded immediately with a jump hook at the other end. The Rams never came within two possessions again and were on their way to a first home defeat against New Hampshire since December 1973. URI slipped to 56-4 against its old Yankee Conference rival here. 

“We’ve sort of hit the wall in terms of confidence,” Miller said. “As a basketball player myself, I never went out there and tried not to play well. Our guys don’t want to not play well. They don’t want to go out and not win.  

“They need help. I have to do a better job. Our staff has to do a better job. You can put this all on us.” 

The Rams (5-7) were in a quick 9-1 hole when Miller called a timeout after just 2:09. They stabilized from there and eventually built a 20-14 advantage when Estevez found Brandon Weston with a pretty feed for a layup. The Wildcats (8-4) answered with a quick 6-0 burst and were on the way to an average of 1.14 points per possession. 

“Our defense is terrible,” Miller said. “Look at the coach. The scheme, combinations of players, what we have to do differently — we’ve gotten hit on everything.” 

URI remained shorthanded for this one. Josaphat Bilau (knee) and David Fuchs (concussion protocol) both missed out for the second straight game — it was the third consecutive for Fuchs. David Green (ankle) saw his potential debut delayed after suffering a minor injury in practice earlier this week — he was previously held out after an NCAA waiver application was denied in late November. 

“When you canceled [Green’s] season a month ago, he went in a different direction in terms of his process,” Miller said. “He has to work himself back into practice and playing. As he did that, he also tweaked his ankle, but that’s not a big deal.  

“David Green is not a part of our conversation right now until it becomes abundantly clear that he’s ready, willing and able. He’s none of them right now.” 

It’s the first time the Rams have dropped five straight in nonconference play since the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Dan Hurley started his URI debut 0-5 before an unlikely double-overtime win at Auburn. The Rams have just one final chance to break the cycle in a Dec. 30 home meeting with Northeastern — it’s Atlantic 10 play or bust following that Saturday afternoon. 

“I think we’re better than this,” Miller said. “But the confidence level is low. And we’re going to have to find out who can get back up off this mat here.” 

NEW HAMPSHIRE (81): Baker 2-7 2-2 8, Daniels 10-20 4-4 27, Woodyard 2-8 0-0 6, Miller 6-12 1-3 17, Robinson 5-11 4-8 15, Moore 3-4 1-2 8, Sunderland 0-0 0-0 0, Opurum 0-3 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Poser 0-0 0-0 0, Gakmar 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 12-19 81. RHODE ISLAND (71): Brown 1-1 2-6 4, House 5-16 5-6 16, Kortright 2-6 3-4 8, Montgomery 6-15 5-5 18, Wright 1-4 0-0 2, Estevez 3-9 1-2 9, Foumena 6-8 0-1 12, Weston 1-5 0-0 2, Stewart 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 16-24 71.

Halftime_New Hampshire 38-34. 3-Point Goals_New Hampshire 13-24 (Miller 4-7, Daniels 3-5, Baker 2-3, Woodyard 2-4, Moore 1-2, Robinson 1-3), Rhode Island 5-22 (Estevez 2-6, House 1-4, Kortright 1-4, Montgomery 1-5, Stewart 0-1, Wright 0-2). Rebounds_New Hampshire 42 (Daniels 10), Rhode Island 37 (Foumena 10). Assists_New Hampshire 14 (Robinson 6), Rhode Island 12 (Estevez 3). Total Fouls_New Hampshire 19, Rhode Island 16. A_3,300 (7,657).

bkoch@providencejournal.com     

On X: @BillKoch25