For the second time in five days, Rhode Island and Boston College will square off on the hardwood.
This time, they will play nearly 1,200 miles away from their last venue in the runner-up round of the Sunshine Slam event on Sunday night in Daytona Beach, Fla.
After the Rams earned a 57-49 win over the Eagles on Wednesday in Kingston, R.I., both teams fell short in their Sunshine Slam championship round matchups on Saturday.
Boston College (3-2) couldn’t keep up with Utah in a 68-61 loss in its tournament opener. Freshman Jaeden Zackery had a season-high 15 points and Makai Ashton-Langford scored 11 to lead the Eagles in defeat. BC led 32-30 at halftime before surrendering the lead for good with 16:38 to play.
It was the Eagles’ second straight loss after three straight home wins to open new coach Earl Grant’s first season.
“(This tournament) was a good chance to play, so we needed to play,” Grant said. “We need to develop; we need to grow. (We’re) trying to play some young guys, trying to get a group to mesh.”
Meanwhile, Rhode Island (3-1) suffered its first loss of the season in a 77-71 setback against Tulsa.
Makhel Mitchell had 20 points and six rebounds and Jeremy Sheppard added 18 points to pace the Rams, who lost despite shooting 52.2 percent (24-of-46) from the field.
Makhi Mitchell’s layup with 12:27 remaining put Rhode Island up 57-50 before the Golden Hurricane rallied and went ahead for good at 64-62 on an Anthony Pritchard free throw with 6:48 to play.
On Wednesday, Ishmael El-Amin had a team-high 12 points and Makhel Mitchell amassed a career-best eight blocks to set the tone in Rhode Island’s eight-point win over BC.
Eagles forward T.J. Bickerstaff had a career day against the Rams, achieving personal bests with 22 points and 15 rebounds.
Despite the loss, Boston College holds a 38-15 advantage in the all-time series with Rhode Island.
–Field Level Media
