KINGSTON, R.I. – The La Salle University men's basketball team suffered a 74-62 road loss at the hands of preseason Atlantic 10 favorite Rhode Island at The Ryan Center on Wednesday evening.
 
Sophomore Isiah Deas had 17 points to lead the Explorers (7-8, 1-1 A-10), who were playing their third consecutive game without the A-10's leading scorer B.J. Johnson.
 
The contest was a close one for the majority of a first half that included eight ties and nine lead changes. A three-pointer from redshirt junior Pookie Powell put La Salle in front, 13-10, near the midway point of the period.
 
Later in the stanza, after Rhode Island had regained the lead, the first of two first-half buckets from freshman Jamir Moultrie pushed the Explorers on top by a 17-16 margin with just under seven minutes remaining.
 
The Rams closed the half on an 11-4 run, capped by a driving layup from sophomore Jeff Dowtin just before the buzzer. The difference in the first half were the 12 turnovers that La Salle committed, leading to 19 URI points.
 
A layup from A-10 Preseason First Team selection E.C. Matthews at the 18:13 mark of the second half gave the home team its largest lead to that point at 42-31, before La Salle made a comeback effort.
 
Deas connected on a three then finished on the fast break to begin a 9-2 spurt that pulled the Explorers to within 44-40 with 15:53 on the clock. The two teams traded hoops before a hook shot from senior Tony Washington nudged La Salle even closer at 48-45.
 
The turning point of the game occurred a minute later, however, when Matthews took advantage of an offensive rebound and made a short jumper in the lane. On the play, a foul was called on the Explorers to give URI possession following a media timeout.
 
After the break, Matthews hit a three-pointer as he was fouled and hit the free throw to cap a six-point possession that turned a three-point game into a 54-45 contest.
 
From there, the Rams built a double-digit lead and remained on top the rest of the way to improve to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in A-10 play.
 
In addition to Deas, Powell closed with 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals while graduate student Amar Stukes added 12 points. Matthews led the Rams with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
 
La Salle returns home to Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center, where they will battle VCU on Saturday, Jan. 6, beginning at 2:00 p.m.