No. 7 Knights Roll Past Roxbury 100-78!

02.20.19

Warwick, R.I. – February 20, 2019: The CCRI Knights men's basketball team hosted the Roxbury Community College Tigers. The first half was a close fight but the Knights pulled away in the second half and won the game handedly 100-78. The win improves CCRI's season record to 26-3 overall and 23-2 in Region XXI play.

Sitting on a 15-game winning streak, CCRI looked to keep that streak going as well as remaining undefeated at home (14-0). The start of the action lacked the normal luster that the Knights have possessed much of the season. Their lead was slim with 13 minutes left in the first half, up 20-14. Roxbury would in fact take the lead, 27-26 with 9:24 remaining in the first half. With five minutes left on the clock in the first half the Knights battled back and took a one point lead, 34-33. The first half would end with CCRI holding a slim lead 44-41 over Roxbury. At the halfway mark, the Knights were led by sophomore co-captain Peter Wilson (Providence, RI) with 16 points, five assists, four steals and four rebounds. Sophomore co-captain JC Santos (East Providence, RI) racked up 11 points, four assists and two rebounds by halftime. Sophomore Oscar Iteji (Schenectady, NY) earned seven points, six rebounds and four blocks for the Knights up to this point.

The second half opened up a bit with CCRI really buckling down on defense and pressing Roxbury more effectively. The Knights pushed forward and began to run away with the lead, 56-47 with 17:47 left on the clock. With less than 10-minute remaining, the score line read 80-57 in favor of CCRI. The offense was clicking due to the fantastic movement highlighted by both JC Santos and Peter Wilson hitting double digits in assists. CCRI held a 25-point lead with five minutes remaining, 93-68. The final score read 100-78 and the Knights earned their 16th straight win.

The Knights were led by Peter Wilson, recording his fourth double-double of the season with 23 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and five steals. JC Santos notched his seventh double-double of the season consisting of 23 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore co-captain Dave Cabeceiras (Warwick, RI) tallied 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Oscar Iteji registered his fifth double-double of the season with 14 rebounds. 11 points, four blocks and one assist. Sophomore Jake Gillis (Jamestown, RI) totaled 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.

Head Coach Rick Harris commented: "Another tough Region XXI battle tonight. Had to really grind it out without our freshman rim protector Franklin Udeh. Fortunately, sophomore Oscar Iteji met the challenge admirably. We scored as we usually can and played well enough in the second half defensively to get the job done. Hats off to Jake Gillis our 'Mr. Energy' do it all guard and our dynamic backcourt duo of JC Santos and Peter Wilson. Those two make me look very good as a coach. We owe it so much of our success to their talents. Looking forward to honoring the sophomores Saturday against a very tough Quincy team in our regular season finale."

The CCRI Knights men's basketball team will next be in action on Saturday, February 23 at 2 pm as they host the Granite of Quincy Community College. This will also be CCRI's sophomore day as they will recognize their six sophomores; JC Santos, Peter Wilson, Dave Cabeceiras, Oscar Iteji, Kyle Murphy and Jacob Gillis.

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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.