Knights Beaten Back by Buccaneers 73-72

02.19.20

Warwick, R.I. – February 19, 2020: The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team hosted the MassBay Community College Buccaneers Tuesday evening. The evening also served as sophomore day as CCRI recognized their three sophomore co-captains; Elijah Lewis (Bridgeport, CT), Jeremy Remigio (Providence, RI) and Dylan Durante (Johnston, RI). The Knights’ led for much of the game but a resurgent Buccaneers squad came back to take the game from the Knights 73-72. The loss drops CCRI’s season record 19-10 overall and 15-3 in Region XXI play.

Tuesday’s meeting was the second of the season between the Buccaneers and the Knights. The first meeting was won by CCRI 80-59 back in November. This second meeting would prove much more of an even battle. Through the opening minutes both teams were battling with MassBay looking slightly more in control. The Knights buckled down and matched the pace set by the Buccaneers, taking a 25-23 lead with five minutes left in the half.

Elijah Lewis led the Knights in first-half scoring with 11 points while freshmen Mikey Gamble (Hartford, CT) and Mitchel Noresca (East Providence, RI) produced nine and eight points respectively. CCRI dominated the last five minutes and opened a 10-point lead, going into the break leading 40-30 over MassBay.

The opening 10 minutes of the second half picked up where the first half left off. The Knights expanded their lead to 16 points; 63-47 with nine minutes left in the game. MassBay began to fight back behind Marshall Martin and his 15 second half points. Javaris Hill added eight points to get his total to a game-leading 23 points to supplement the Buccaneers’ offense.

The CCRI lead was cut further and further down until the teas were level after a Buccaneers teal and drive to the lane drawing the foul after a made basket. At 72-72 and with one shot at the line, MassBay made their shot and CCRI looked to play quick but could not get a shot off in time. CCRI would fall to MassBay by the slimmest of margins 73-72.

The Knights were led by Elijah Lewis as he scored 15 points with five assists and three rebounds. Mitchel Noresca snagged 14 rebounds while adding 13 points. Jeremy Remigio contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and one block. Mikey Gamble came off the bench to supply 10 points, four assists, three steals and one rebound.

Head Coach Rick Harris commented: “We took a step backwards tonight in that we played so hard to build up a second half lead, but we then seemed to forget what had allowed us to achieve that lead. MassBay fighting for a better playoff seeding wanted the game more than us down the stretch and did all the things needed to complete a great win for themselves. Disheartening for us especially on sophomore night, but we must take from this experience what we can. Our focus must quickly turn to Quincy Thursday night with the opportunity to win and lock up the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Region Tournament. I especially want to thank our sophomores Dylan, Elijah and Jeremy and hopefully we get the leadership we need from them in our attempt to make a post season run to the Nationals.”

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team will next be in action on Thursday, February 20th at 7:00 p.m. as they travel to Quincy, MA to take on the Quincy College Granite for their last regular season game of the 2019-20 campaign.

For all things CCRI Athletics, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube by clicking on these links!

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.