No. 21 Rhode Island beats Brown 79-72

KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — After coasting through its first two games, No. 21 Rhode Island finally played a team that wasn't out of contention by halftime.

Jared Terrell scored 18 points and E.C. Matthews added 17 as the Rams staved off upset-minded Brown on Wednesday night in Round Two of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off.

"This is the first time we got challenged since we've been on the court," Rams coach Dan Hurley said. "It's the first time we were in something tight where we had to make some plays.

"Some mind-boggling things went on. We got out-hustled. I think we were a little full of ourselves today and this was the perfect opponent for us to get upset. Can this be a positive for us? Yes."

Steven Spieth paced the Bears (1-2) with 21 points while Brandon Anderson added 16. Hassan Martin added 12 points for the Rams (3-0).

"We knew we would be challenged and that if we took care of the ball we would have had a chance," Brown coach Mike Martin said. "In a game like this, every possession is critical and we had a few empty chances in the second half."

After trailing 36-21 in the first half, Brown pulled within 41-33 at intermission as Spieth scored six points in the last 27 seconds.

"Obviously I'm happy to survive the game," Hurley said. "My hat's off to Mike and his team. He had his guys really ready to play.

"They were really scrappy. I thought Spieth was the best player on the court. On our end I'm disappointed because we had several chances in the first half to extend it and get away like we did in our first two games."

Even though Rhode Island shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half, the fact Brown switched from man-to-man to a zone defense still gave the Rams trouble.

At one point Brown trailed 58-53 before Martin and Matthews ignited a rally that enabled Rhode Island to pull away.

"Great teams at that point get separation," Hurley said of his team's first-half play. "I have much respect for the way their guys showed up and competed."

BIG PICTURE

Brown: The Bears tied for last last season in the Ivy League. But they may have delivered a message that this scenario won't be repeated after they upset Niagara 77-67 in their home opener on Nov. 13 and played Rhode Island tough on Wednesday.

Rhode Island: Season-opening routs of Dartmouth and Marist enabled the Rams to move up two spots in the Top 25 poll, to No. 21. Logic dictates their road will become more difficult to traverse as the season progresses.

POLL IMPLICATIONS: At the least the Rams didn't hurt their standings in the poll but how much this hard-fought victory will enable them to move up is debatable.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Martin continues to guard his team's basket like it contains the crown jewels as he blocked six shots which gave him a total of 262. That number ranks second among all active NCAA Division I players.

TURNING POINT: The Bears had sliced their deficit from 15 points to 58-55 with 10:39 left in regulation. But Martin blunted that rally by sandwiching a dunk and a tip-in around a free throw by Matthews.

FRESHMAN STANDOUT: Brown's Anderson, who had only scored three points in his first two games, finished with 16 points and four rebounds with four steals.

UP NEXT

Brown should be favored when it faces Marist on Saturday in the Springfield Bracket of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Red Foxes opened their season with a 94-49 loss to No. 1 Duke and a 107-65 defeat by Rhode Island.

Rhode Island will face its most challenging, early season opponent on Saturday when it plays No. 24 Cincinnati in the Naismith Bracket of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Bearcats have won their first two games, outscoring Albany and Brown by an average score of 79-53.