The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team hosted Region XXI non-league opponent Northern Essex Community College on Thursday night. CCRI was able to come away victorious, defeating the visiting Knights 105-78. The win brings CCRI to 13-8 on the season along with a 10-2 Region XXI record.
The final score may not indicate it, but this game was close the entire first half. CCRI only went into the break with a 50-47 lead. It had no trouble scoring the basketball, but Northern Essex was able to keep up with it stride for stride. Matt Jameson had an impressive 17 first-half points for Northern Essex, as he knocked down five 3-pointers in the half. CCRI survived the flurry of 3-pointers thanks to double-digit points in the half from both tri-captain Edvaldo Ferreira (Cape Verde), 12 points, and freshman Adrian La Fleur (Sydney, Australia), 11 points.
CCRI regrouped at halftime and the second half showed a much stronger focus on the defensive end. Above mentioned Jameson was the victim of the aggressive CCRI defense, as his 17-point first half was followed by a goose egg in the second half. Thanks to the excellent defensive effort, CCRI went on a 29-12 run to start the half, which was emphatically capped off by a fast-break dunk from sophomore Jordan Grant (New London, Conn.).
Grant’s dunk seemingly took the air out of the Northern Essex team, as it looked worn out from the relentless CCRI attack. The Knights kept up their scoring pace and reached triple digits for the second time this season. CCRI outscored Northern Essex 55-31 in the second half for a plus-24 margin.
La Fleur finished with 16 points and five assists on the night. Josh Mann (Detroit, Mich.) had another strong game with 14 points and seven boards. Sharpshooting Elijah Vazquez (Woonsocket, R.I.) was a very efficient 4-of-6 from the 3-point line that led to his 14 points and he also added four rebounds and five assists.
Mike DeJesus (Cranston, R.I.) added 10 points while Grant added 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. Tri-captain Jessy Taveras (Cranston, R.I.) was a facilitator once again for the Knights as he dropped eight dimes to go along with his six points.
Ferreira finished the game with another big stat line of 22 points, matching his season high, while also adding the usual 12 rebounds and six blocks. It was Edvaldo’s 16th double-double on the season and also still leads NJCAA D-II in both rebounds per game (13.9) and blocks per game (4.9).
The Knights’ next scheduled game is Saturday at 2 p.m. against Globe College.
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