NCAA Game Summary - Fordham at Rhode Island

Kingston, RI (SportsNetwork.com) - Both E.C. Matthews and Xavier Munford scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists as the Rhode Island Rams defeated the Fordham Rams, 77-65, in an Atlantic 10 Conference bout at the Ryan Center.

T.J. Buchanan tallied a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, adding seven assists to his stat line for Rhode Island (14-17, 5-11 A-10). Hassan Martin also notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards, adding a team-high six blocked shots to his resume. The home Rams end their regular season with two consecutive wins heading into the Atlantic 10 postseason.

Branden Frazier led all scorers in the contest with 22 points for Fordham (9-19, 2-13), adding seven assists and four steals. Mandell Thomas chipped in 11 points, and Ryan Rhoomes scored 10 points with seven rebounds off the bench. Fordham has dropped seven consecutive contests, and has one game remaining on its regular season schedule.

Fordham connected on 33.3 percent of its shot attempts in the first half, including 6-of-17 from 3-point range, to take a slim 33-31 lead as the teams headed for the locker rooms at the intermission. Rhode Island hit 40 percent of its field goal tries in the frame, but went just 1-of-7 from 3-point distance.

The home squad exploded out of the gates in the second half, netting 65 percent of its shots, going 6-of-10 from deep and 14-of-23 from the free-throw line. The visiting Rams shot 34.3 percent from the floor in the period, and went just 2-of-12 from long range. Rhode Island outscored Fordham, 46-32, in the half to steal away the win.

Rhode Island had the edge in rebounding, 48-38, and outscored Fordham from the free-throw line, 20-7. The visiting squad won the battle in points off turnovers, 18-10.