Knights Cut Down by Cougars

02.10.20

Warwick, R.I. – February 10, 2020: The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team traveled to Holyoke, MA to take on the Holyoke Community College Cougars Saturday afternoon. The Knights struggled to produce efficient offense and fell to the Cougars 91-85. The loss drops CCRI’s season record 17-9 overall and 13-2 in Region XXI play.

Fresh off an impressive showing against Bunker Hill on Thursday, CCRI looked to duplicate that effort against a surging Holyoke squad. The Cougars came out with a bit more intensity than the Knights and led through the early stages. CCRI pushed back and started to match Holyoke’s effort and after 15 minutes of play Holyoke led CCRI by three points; 32-29.

The Knights then mounted a strong offensive over the last five minutes of the half. A 14-6 run gave CCRI a 43-38 lead going into the halftime break. Sophomore co-captain Dylan Durante (Johnston, RI) led the Knights’ offense through the opening 20 minutes scoring 12 points from four three-pointers. Freshmen Mitchel Noresca (East Providence, RI) and Tyreek Davis (Torrington, CT) both tallied eight points to help boost CCRI in the first half.

Inefficiencies when shooting plagued the Knights throughout the second half. The team went 34-68 from the floor and struggled from beyond the arc going 13-34, a mere 38.2%. In spite of this, CCRI never fell behind by an insurmountable score line. Unfortunately, they never were able to mount a comeback and were defeated by Holyoke 91-85.

The Knights were led by Sophomore co-captain Elijah Lewis (Bridgeport, CT) scoring 20 points with four three-pointers along with seven assists, two rebounds, two steals and one block. Dylan Durante registered 18 points all of which was scored from beyond the arc in addition to three rebounds, one assist and one steal. Sophomore co-captain Jeremy Remigio (Providence, RI) produced 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Mitchel Noresca secured 15 rebounds with 11 points, one assist and one block for his 14th double-double of the season. Freshman Reece Bullock (Coventry, RI) also registered a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and one block.

Head Coach Rick Harris commented: “Holyoke, having won three out of their last four games and now four out of five is a very good team. Coming off our Bunker Hill win this game worried me. As young men tend to do, they failed to put forth the energy and team play needed to win a region home game against a good opponent. Bitter pill to swallow but hopefully the young men learn from it. I look forward to seeing how our guys respond in our game next Thursday.”

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team will next be in action on Thursday, February 13th at 7:00 p.m. as they host the Northern Essex Community College Knights.

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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, four club programs and an academic support program for all student-athletes.