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No. 8 Knights Lambast Lions 86-58!

02.06.19

Franklin Udeh

Franklin Udeh

Warwick, R.I. – February 6, 2019: The CCRI Knights men's basketball team hosted the Gateway Community College Lions on Tuesday evening in the Vincent A. Cullen Field House. The Knights continued to play well on both sides of the court and cruised to an 86-58 victory. The win improves CCRI's season record to 22-3 overall and 19-2 in Region XXI play.

CCRI sitting on an 11-game winning streak knew that the Lion posed a tough task. The first meeting between the two teams spilled into overtime when the Knights eventually went onto win 87-75. Tuesday's meeting would not be quite as close. Four minutes into the action CCRI led 14-3. The lead grew to 25-20 with 12:55 remaining in the first half. The Knights were spurred on by the dominance of freshman Franklin Udeh (Boston, MA) down low. Udeh registered a first half double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The strength and ability to work the ball along the baseline helped CCRI push further ahead of the very athletic Gateway team. At halftime, the Knights led 52-29.

In the second half, the Lions, which showed an eagerness to shoot from the perimeter, began to make shots. CCRI answered back with a more efficient brand of offense to counteract the Lions. The Knights led 61-40 with 16 minutes remaining in the game. Sophomore co-captain JC Santos (East Providence, RI) began moving the ball more directly and pulling the offensive strings. For the second game in a row Santos dished out 10 assists, becoming the orchestrator of the CCRI front line. With 7:05 left on the clock, the Knights held a 74-51 lead and never seemed threatened. CCRI would go onto win the game 86-58.

The Knights were led by sophomore co-captain Peter Wilson (Providence, RI) scoring 25 points with six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Wilson has scored a total of 478 points on the season which is 14th in the nation. JC Santos registered his fourth double-double of the season with 21 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals. Santos averages 7.3 assists per game is good for No. 9 in the nation. Franklin Udeh recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks. Udeh has ripped down 208 total rebounds on the year which is the 17th most in the nation. Sophomore Oscar Iteji (Schenectady, NY) snatched nine rebounds with six points, four blocks and one assist. Iteji has amassed 65 blocks on the season which earns him No. 3 in the nation and his 2.8 blocks per game is No. 4 in the nation.

Head Coach Rick Harris commented: "In our first meeting with Gateway this year we survived with an overtime win in New Haven. The Lions are one of the top four teams in our region. Tonight, though, our defense in the first half gave them no breathing room. This team is developing into one of the better defensive teams we have had in the past number of years and they like playing together. I do enjoy coaching them as they seek to get better each day."

The CCRI Knights men's basketball team will next be in action on Saturday, February 9 at 1 p.m. as they travel to Wellesley, MA to take on the Buccaneers of MassBay Community College.

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The Community College of Rhode Island, New England's largest comprehensive community college, enrolls nearly 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes. Its athletic program boasts 12 varsity programs and an academic support program for all student-athletes.