An Attendee Wonders if UMASS is Just Another Part of the Audience
Being broadcasted on CBS Sports network was a New England rivalry game that lost all of its lust when the 2015-2016 began for an assortment of reasons. After March 3, anyone watching in American saw why. Before I talk about only the game's events, I just need to let readers know that camera men from CBSN LIE. They asked everyone in the front student section to scream into their 99 cent looking camera so they could use it for the pre-game introduction to the game on their network. I rewatched the game broadcasted on TV later on and that footage was never used. Come on CBSN, at least try to lie better. Not to mention, the camera man looked like the dude in your local neighborhood with a haunted looking house and drives around with a massive van, talking about some old "Hey, I have some candy in my trunk." I do not want to know where this particular camera man is currently in life. I just hope he never ever returns to Rhode Island, never mind the Ryan Center.
Starting out, I realized the game was at night but UMASS was still sleeping. As hard as the Minutemen tried, they could not buy a basket to save their lives. As I looked to my left and saw the UMASS fans that traveled with the team, I noticed some of them checking their phones and some checking what was in their pockets while their team was already starting to get beat badly. I guess the UMASS faithful were trying to find some coupons for 50% off the time it will take for UMASS to finally score? Or maybe some power-ups for their team, say maybe +10 to all their player's shooting abilities? The fact of the matter is that for the majority of the first half, UMASS's score was in single digits. Evidently, it was not just that Rhode Island was playing good defense but Massachusetts simply could not score. With around 2 and a half minutes left before halftime, the Minutemen managed to get to halftime with 12 points, trailing URI 34-12. Allowing only 12 points in the half was the lowest amount that Rhode Island has ever held a team to ever since the shot-clock era.
In the second half, Massachusetts made some hoops finally and tried to make a game of it. However, Rhody defended their lead easily by doing the only thing they needed to do in the second half, which was trade baskets effectively. Thanks to Kuran Iverson's 13 points and 12 rebounds, UMASS could never fully make a rally. Even though they used their big boy, Rashaan Holloway to a certain level of effectiveness, the only way UMASS was going to come back was if Holloway ate the entire URI team. The sad part is that this was a realistic possibility. Luckily, no one was eaten by Holloway and URI prevailed on senior night, winning comfortably 68-50. Other key contributors were Jared Terrell with 15 points, Andre "Beasty" Berry who totaled 10 points, and "Big" Earl Watson who scored 10 points on his senior night.
Hey, to UASS, the URI sign guy said it best folks:
