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Rhode Island beats Davidson 72-59 for 15th straight win

Dan Hurley

Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley directs his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Santa Clara in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Friday, Nov. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

AP

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Cyril Langevine came off the bench with Rhode Island leading by five points, and soon the advantage was down to one.

All he did over the next nine minutes was score 10 points and grab four rebounds while helping the 18th-ranked Rams open a 16-point lead.

“We’re not a team, we’re a program,” coach Dan Hurley said on Friday night after Rhode Island beat Davidson 72-59 to match a school record with its 15th win in a row. “We’ve got a real deep team. You can go on winning streaks and have seasons like this when you have different guys step up each night.”

Langevine scored a career-high 14 points and added eight rebounds in 22 minutes, and Jarvis Garrett scored all 17 of his points in the second half for the Rams (20-3, 12-0 Atlantic 10). URI last won 15 straight in 1939-40.

Kellan Grady scored 19 for Davidson (13-10, 8-4) and Peyton Aldridge scored 15. The Wildcats, who had won eight of their last 10, made 20 3-pointers in Tuesday’s victory over Saint Joseph’s, but shot just 4 of 17 from beyond the arc against URI.

“Eliminating the 3-point line was key No. 1,” Hurley said. “Our goal is five or less. We probably could have lived with seven or eight. We just didn’t think they had a chance to beat us if they didn’t shoot the ball well.”

URI held a 15-13 lead before scoring 12 of the next 13 points to open a double-digit lead it never relinquished. Langevine had back-to-back dunks to start the run and also had a three-point play with 6:48 left in the first to make it 30-16 before returning to the bench for the rest of the half.

DON’T DO THAT

Langevine, who was coming off a game against Virginia Commonwealth in which he grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds, had a crowd-pleasing dunk early in the second half that drew a technical foul for taunting.

Asked what the official told him, Langevine said, “He laughed at me. ‘Cause I guess I flexed.”

Coming out of the timeout, Rhode Island players were trying to pump up the crowd, but were told to stop by the referee. Aldridge made one of two free throws, cutting the deficit to 42-27.

BIG PICTURE

Davidson: The Wildcats entered the night on a three-game winning streak and holding a one-game lead over St. Bonaventure for second place in the Atlantic 10. They may still be second-best in the conference, but the gap between them and the Rams doesn’t seem to be getting any smaller.

URI: At No. 18 in the AP Top 25, the Rams have already reached their highest ranking ever. They do not play again before the next votes are cast, so they could move up when the new poll is announced on Monday.

SHOOTERS GOTTA SHOOT

Garrett missed his only shot in 12 minutes in the first half but made six of seven while playing 17 minutes in the second. He said he was catching the ball off balance in the first and not feeling like the shot was there.

“At halftime, my teammates were telling me to shoot,” he said. “So I just came out shooting.”

UP NEXT

Davidson: Visits Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday night.

Rhode Island: Hosts Richmond on Tuesday night.