Knights Spring Past Springfield 94-65!

12.12.18

Warwick, R.I. – December 12, 2018: The CCRI Knights men's basketball team hosted the Rams of Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Tuesday evening. Another strong start from the Knights paved the way to a comfortable 94-65 victory. The win improves CCRI's season record to 10-2 overall and 9-1 in Region XXI play.

Coming into the game with a good bit of momentum, sitting on a four-game winning streak, the Knights looked to grab the game by the horns from the get go. They did so by spreading the floor, moving the ball quickly and efficiently. The Springfield defense struggled to keep up with the high tempo as CCRI jumped out to a 17-7 lead with 15:02 left in the first half. Less than five minutes later, the lead grew to 19 points with the Knights on top 30-11. CCRI was led by sophomore co-captain Peter Wilson (Providence, RI) at halftime with 15 points. Also putting up solid first half stats was freshman Jason Palmer (Narragansett, RI) with 11 points and eight rebounds as well as sophomore Oscar Iteji (Schenectady, NY) with 11 points and five rebounds. The scoreboard read 52-30 as the teams went into the locker-room.

The second half saw the pace drop ever so slightly. However, what didn't drop was the effectiveness of the CCRI offense. The Knights had a team total of 20 assists whereas the defense also played bid as the team secured 50 total rebounds. This in addition to having five Knights in double figures scoring, three recording double-doubles ensured a smooth path down the home stretch. The lead was never in doubt and the Knights marched on to a 94-65 victory.

The Knights were led by Peter Wilson with 20 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Wilson's 243 total points on the season sees him sitting at 16th in the nation as well as 25th in the nation with 57 assists and 31st in the nation with averaging 20.3 points per game. Big-man Oscar Iteji registered his second double-double in a row as he racked up 19 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and one steal. Iteji has moved to seventh in the nation for blocks with 33 on the season. Freshman Darren Robinson (Providence, RI) tallied 17 points, nine rebounds, one steal and one block. The man in-form. Jason Palmer recorded his seventh double-double in a row as he scored 16 points with 13 rebounds, three assists and one block. Palmer's 118 total rebounds ranks him 11th in the nation and fifth in the nation with 92 defensive rebounds. Sophomore co-captain JC Santos (East Providence, RI) also recorded a double-double by scoring 12 points and dishing out 10 assists with three rebounds and two steals.

Head Coach Rick Harris commented: "Pleased overall with our effort as well as team play tonight (20 assists!). But as I told the team, we will have to improve our interior defense and our rebounding if we want to be successful Thursday night at Bristol County. Happy with the win tonight though as I told the young men it is not easy to get 10 wins prior to the break. We are all looking forward to Thursday's game at Bristol County CC."

The CCRI Knights men's basketball team will next be in action on Thursday, December 13th at 8 p.m. as they travel to Fall River, MA to face off with the No. 7 Bristol Community College Bayhawks.

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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.