Knights Win 87-72 Over Warriors!

11.28.18

Warwick, R.I. – November 28, 2018: The CCRI Knights men's basketball team hosted the Warriors of Massasoit Community College for a Tuesday night Region XXI battle. The Knights came out hot, taking an early 8-0 lead and never looked back. CCRI never lost their lead and would go onto win the game 87-72. The win improves CCRI's season record to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in Region XXI play.

Tuesday evening was a good test for the Knights. Fresh off a victory over the No.2 team in the nation in Nassau CC and a close OT defeat to No.2 Suffolk County CC, CCRI possessed a lot of momentum. The Warriors are the reigning Region XXI Champs and this early test will set the tone for the Region race this season.

A dominant first half was fueled by the high intensity of the CCRI defense, forcing turnovers and driving down the court turning defense into offense. This effort was led by sophomore co-captain Peter Wilson (Providence, RI) who tallied 10 points, five assists and five rebounds at the half way mark. Leading the Knights under the basket was freshman Jason Palmer (Narragansett, RI) who snatched 10 rebounds, scored six points and provided one assist before halftime. The score at the halftime buzzer read CCRI 41, Massasoit 31.

The Knights kept up the pressure and led by as much as 28 points at times. The Warriors battled back to make it a game with just minutes left, but their effort was in vain as the Knights were victorious in the end 87-72.

Leading the scoring for the Knights was Peter Wilson who recorded his first double-double of the season with 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Wilson was prolific from beyond the arc going 5-6 from three-point range. Jason Palmer registered his third double-double in-a-row with 16 points, a team-high 15 rebounds and an assist. Freshman Franklin Udeh (Boston, MA) was a monster in the paint dropping 17 points with nine rebounds, one steal and a block. All but one of Udeh's buckets came from close range battling against the opponent big men. Fellow big man sophomore Oscar Iteji (Schenectady, NY) tallied 12 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and a steal. Sophomore co-captain JC Santos (East Providence, RI) chipped in 12 points with seven assists and five rebounds. Freshman Jose Garcia (Boston, MA) racked up a team-high seven assists with a steal off the bench.

Head Coach Rick Harris commented: "Great league win for our young guys last night against the defending region champions. I was impressed with the defensive intensity they showed to start both the first half and second half. We do need to work on sustaining that for the entire game. It was great to see our freshman Jose Garcia and Franklin Udeh have the impact on the game that they did. When our team is playing right, different players rise up each night. Looking forward to our next practice and improving on the areas that we need to."

The Knights will next be in action on Thursday, November 29th at 8 p.m. as they travel to New Haven, CT to face the Gateway Community College Lions.

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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.