Knights Bewilder Bristol 83-67!

02.05.20

Warwick, R.I. – February 5, 2020: The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team hosted the Bristol Community College Bayhawks Tuesday evening. The teams played at the highest intensity seen in the Vincent A. Cullen Field House since the New Year with CCRI rising up to take the game 83-67 over Bristol. The win improves CCRI’s season record 16-8 overall and 12-1 in Region XXI play.

Contrary to the last few games, points did not take their time being scored. Both CCRI and Bristol came out looking to light up the scoreboard. The Knights started slightly stronger than the Bayhawks and took a 21-16 lead with 12:29 left in the first half. Bristol buckled down and started to match the offensive intensity of CCRI with their own high-pressure defense.

No one Knight ran away with scoring as the attack was balanced. Freshman Mitchel Noresca (East Providence, RI) tallied eight points in the opening 20 minutes with freshman Mikey Gamble (Hartford, CT) amassing seven points to propel CCRI in the opening half. Bristol enjoyed nine points from sharp shooter Prowo Kinkaue-Poufong with an additional eight points from Stanley Freeman to stay close with the Knights. At the halftime break CCRI led Bristol 34-32.

The Bayhawks battled to get the score within two points and continued to stay within striking distance for the first 10 minutes of the second half. CCRI were able to break the press and began to completely outplay Bristol under the basket, leading 60-51 with 10 minutes remaining.

Mitchel Noresca helped keep possessions alive with 12 offensive rebounds. Even more impressively Noresca had a record night at the basket as he totaled a CCRI record of 29 rebounds in a single game. The previous record was 28 rebounds, held by Warren Marshall and was set during the 1974-75 season against no other than Bristol Community College.

CCRI pushed the advantage and never looked back. Sophomore co-captain Dylan Durante (Johnston, RI) scored 15 second half points while sophomore co-captain Jeremy Remigio (Providence, RI) registered 13 in the final 20 minutes. At the final buzzer, the balanced performance produced an 83-67 victory for the Knights.

CCRI was led by the aforementioned record setting performance of Mitchel Noresca with 29 rebounds, 10 points and one assist. Dylan Durante had a strong performance with 21 points, going 5-10 from beyond the arc and adding two rebounds to his tally. Jeremy Remigio had a career-day for the Knights as he dropped 19 points with 11 assists and one steal. Freshman Reece Bullock (Coventry, RI) contributed 14 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal.

Head Coach Rick Harris commented: “Fun game as all our Region XXI games seem to be played with a playoff type feel to them. Our guys responded beautifully last night by bearing down defensively to start the second half. With sophomore co-captain Elijah Lewis (Bridgeport, CT) down for the game it took a half for our team to click offensively but fortunately we saw our offense play rise up in the second half. Point guard Jeremy Remigio played flawless basketball and Mitchel Noresca was a monster on the boards once again. It was very special to be part of his record-breaking rebounding night. Also, great seeing the young men play mature composed basketball down the stretch.”

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team will next be in action on Thursday, February 6th at 7:30 p.m. as they host the Bunker Hill Community College Bulldogs.

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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 10 varsity programs and an academic support program for all student-athletes.