Davidson misses 3 at buzzer in OT, falls to Rhode Island in regular-season finale
. E.C. Matthews scored eight of his 18 points in overtime, including what proved to be the game-winning dunk, and Rhode Island beat Davidson 73-70 in Saturday's regular-season finale to win its fifth straight.
The Rams led 65-64 in overtime on Hassan Martin's 3-point play and 67-66 on Matthews' layup with 2:31 left. Matthews made two free throws and a one-handed dunk for a 71-68 lead. Jack Gibbs's layup off a steal made it a one-point game with 36 seconds to go, but Matthews made a layup and Peyton Aldridge missed a 3 at the buzzer.
Gibbs's 3-pointer tied it at 62 with 10 seconds left in regulation, Rhode Island turned it over, and Stanford Robinson blocked Will Magarity's potential game-winning layup at the buzzer.
Martin scored 21 points with 17 rebounds for the Rams (21-9, 13-5 Atlantic 10). Kuran Iverson scored 17 with 11 rebounds and Robinson had 10 points.
Gibbs hit five 3-pointers and scored 29 for Davidson (15-14, 8-10). Aldridge had 19 with a career-high 15 boards.
Next game: The Wildcats, the No. 9 seed, will play No. 8 La Salle (9-9 in A-10) in the A-10 tournament at noon Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
Davidson falls in overtime to Rhode Island, 73-70. With an 8-10 conference record, the Wildcats will be the No. 9 seed in the A-10 tourney.
— Pat James (@patjames24) March 5, 2017
For the 3rd straight year Davidson will meet La Salle in the @A10MBB Tourney. The 9th seeded 'Cats & 8th seeded Explorers tip at noon Thurs.
— Davidson Basketball (@DavidsonMBB) March 5, 2017
RHODE ISLAND 73, DAVIDSON 70, OT
DAVIDSON (15-14): Aldridge 8-18 3-4 19, McAuliffe 1-2 0-0 2, Pritchett 2-9 2-2 6, Gudmundsson 1-2 0-0 2, Gibbs 10-21 4-7 29, Magarity 2-7 0-0 6, Ekwu 1-1 0-0 2, Kovacevic 0-0 0-0 0, Reigel 1-1 0-0 2, Watkins 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-62 9-13 70.
RHODE ISLAND (21-9): Iverson 8-13 0-0 17, Martin 10-18 1-3 21, Dowtin 1-2 0-0 2, Terrell 1-5 0-1 2, Matthews 7-18 4-6 18, Akele 0-0 0-0 0, Langevine 0-0 0-0 0, Garrett 1-1 0-0 3, Robinson 4-8 2-4 10. Totals 32-65 7-14 73.
Halftime—Davidson 33-32. End Of Regulation—Tied 62. 3-Point Goals—Davidson 7-20 (Gibbs 5-9, Magarity 2-4, Pritchett 0-2, Aldridge 0-5), Rhode Island 2-13 (Garrett 1-1, Iverson 1-3, Robinson 0-1, Terrell 0-2, Matthews 0-6). Fouled Out—Gudmundsson. Rebounds—Davidson 32 (Aldridge 15), Rhode Island 41 (Martin 17). Assists—Davidson 11 (Pritchett, Gibbs 3), Rhode Island 11 (Garrett, Terrell 3). Total Fouls—Davidson 20, Rhode Island 16. A—7,263 (7,657).
This story was originally published March 4, 2017 at 9:09 PM with the headline "Davidson misses 3 at buzzer in OT, falls to Rhode Island in regular-season finale."