KINGSTON, R.I. – A four-point play from Rhode Island's Jamarques Lawrence capped a 13-point Rams rally and helped send the hosts to a 68-64 victory Wednesday night in the Ocean State.

For as poorly as the second half went for the Bonnies, the first 20 minutes were quite the opposite story.

Bona opened the game 15-for-30 from the floor and used a pair of 8-0 runs to take a 37-25 lead to halftime.

Once the second half started, however, the script flipped.

SBU (17-9, 5-8 A-10) opened the second 20 minutes 5-for-17 as Rhode Island chipped its way back into the game.

A three-ball from David Green with 3:10 remaining gave the Rams their first lead since 2-0, 60-59.

The Bonnies pulled back in front following a timeout that allowed the visitors to draw up an open look from three-point land that was drained by Melvin Council Jr.

Council put the Bonnies back in front by a point, 64-63, following free throws with 1:51 to play.

That score held until the waning seconds when a missed layup from the Bonnies allowed the Rams to push the ball up the court. Sebastian Thomas found Lawrence open in the far corner and his shot found nothing but the bottom of the net. Lawrence also sank the ensuing free throw.

Bona's turned the ball over on a full-court heave attempt and the Rams escaped with the win.

In all, the Rams shot nearly 52 percent after intermission after finishing at 40 percent during the first half.

Jonah Hinton led the Bonnies with 18 points while Council produced 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Noel Brown also turned in 16 points.

Lawrence delivered a game-high 20 points with Green adding 18 and Thomas recording 15 for the Rams (16-8, 5-7 A-10).

• The Bonnies held narrow edges in points off turnovers (13-10), points in the paint (32-26), second chance (8-7) and fastbreak (10-7) while the Rams led on the boards, 32-31, and hit one more 3-pointer (9-8). While the Bonnies went 8-8 at the foul line, the Rams finished 11-17.
• SBU led for 36:05 game time.
• Chance Moore was out of the lineup due to a foot injury. Noah Bolanga replaced him in the starting lineup, playing all 40 minutes for a career-high while also hauling in a career-high eight rebounds.
• The Bonnies fell to 16-3 when winning the turnover battle (13-11) and 17-4 when leading at halftime.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MARK SCHMIDT
"We played hard; they made the plays at the end. We had some breakdowns, but I thought our guys really competed. You can't allow them to shoot 51 percent in the second half, it really comes down to that. Proud of the effort, but we have to close games better."

(on the game-winning 3-pointer) "We had him going to his right and that's what we wanted to do. We broke down and helped from ball side corner and you just can't do that; that's a cardinal mistake. We did that and got to the shooter late."

"Being shorthanded without Chance, Noah went in there and didn't shoot the ball great but grabbed some rebounds. Jonah made some big shots; from an offensive standpoint he did a good job. We won't use injuries as an excuse; it's part of the game: next man up. We have a 24-hour rule; go back to practice tomorrow and start working on UMass."

UP NEXT
The Bonnies remain on the road as they continue to trek through New England with a Saturday afternoon date at Massachusetts coming up. Tip time is slated for noon.

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