Frank Ben-Eze battles under the net. See a photo gallery below. (Tim Cowie photo)

Women fall to Monthmouth in a close one

SOURCE: Davidson College Sports Information

Keith Cothran netted 19 points to lead Rhode Island to a 75-65 men’s basketball victory over Davidson in John M. Belk Arena Saturday afternoon. Jake Cohen led the Wildcats (1-5) with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Brendan McKillop and JP Kuhlman each scored 12 points.

[Also Saturday, the Davidson women's basketball team lost to Monmouth, 46-43, at the UNC Wilmington Invitational.]

Lamonte Ulmer tallied 12 points and seven rebounds for the Rams (4-0), and Akeem Richmond scored 11 off the bench.

The Wildcats, who entered the game shooting 77 percent from the free-throw line, took a season-high 28 foul shots, but only made half. The Rams’ pressing, trapping defense also forced 18 turnovers, and Davidson shot 39 percent from the field.

Cohen helped chip into a nine-point Ram lead early in the second half by scoring six straight points to cut the margin to 39-36.

After Cothran hit two free throws to make the score 41-36 with 15:24 remaining, the Cats got stops on four of five defensive possessions but went 1-for-6 from the free-throw line after drawing fouls on the offensive end.

The Rams pushed the lead to 10 points on a Richmond 3-pointer midway through the frame. Leading 51-41, Rhode Island used a 9-3 spurt, capped by a Cothran trey, to open a 60-44 cushion with 6:59 to go. Davidson got the margin to nine points, on a McKillop 3-pointer with 4:06 remaining, but got no closer.

The Wildcats shot well early in the game, hitting three straight 3-pointers, including two from Bryant Barr. The Rams used an 11-4 run, capped by a Cothran layup, to open a 27-19 lead with 8:06 to go in the half.

Davidson responded with a 9-2 run with the help of 3-pointers by McKillop and Will Archambault to make the score 29-28, but the Rams finished the frame on an 8-2 spurt, keyed by six points from Ulmer, leaving the margin at 37-30 at halftime.

Davidson opens Southern Conference action at The Citadel Thursday Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.

Game Notes: It was the first meeting between Rhode Island and Davidson since the 1966 NCAA Tournament. … The Cats are now 27-5 against non-conference opponents in Belk Arena since 2003. … The Rams are the second Atlantic 10 opponent Davidson will face this season, and the ‘Cats are 0-2. … The last is UMass, which is Dec. 30 in Belk Arena.

PHOTO GALLERY – Photos by Tim Cowie

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