SOUTH KINGSTOWN — On Saturday afternoon, Sebastian Thomas added another chapter to what is becoming a remarkable personal story during this 2024-25 men’s college basketball season.
Former Bishop Hendricken star and Providence native has been Mr. Clutch for the University of Rhode Island, and it was the same with George Mason in town for the Atlantic 10’s home opener.
Thomas dribbled, passed out and hit an off-balance jumper along the right baseline with 0.9 seconds left to electrify the Ryan Center again. The Rams beat the Patriots, 62-59, in a game where they trailed for nearly 30 minutes.
URI elected not to use a timeout after an entry with 11.7 seconds left, and Thomas completed a backcourt handoff from Jamarques Lawrence on the right sideline. He brushed aside any potential screening action and attacked Brayden O’Connor 1-on-1, creating a bit of daylight right before going out of bounds.
More: RI native Sebastian Thomas was a driving force in the Rams’ basketball victory over the Friars
Thomas launched a shot that caught only the net and drew a foul, a conventional three-point play that broke a 59-59 tie.
“I knew we were going to get the last shot,” Thomas said. “I really wanted the ball. I think my teammates trust me with the ball.
Thomas helped bring down Providence and Temple in previous games with 3-point daggers in the final minute. That bucket and O’Conner’s missed full-court heave allowed the Rams to rebound after a miserable loss of road in Duquesne on New Year’s Eve. URI faced an early 12-point deficit after an ineffective third straight offensive half, but Thomas and a revamped lineup took command just in time to win a fifth consecutive league home opener.
“He’s the ultimate player right now,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “Confident. We have been released.
Thomas put home a sweet jumper in the lane with 2:58 left to make it a 56-54 game, the Rams’ first lead since the 12:31 mark of the first half. URI generated a few key defensive stops and received another bucket at a critical time from an unlikely source. Quentin Diboundje beat the shot clock with a left elbow jumper with 23.5 seconds left, and the Rams opened a 59-56 advantage.
“It was all the coach, wasn’t it? » Miller joked. “I give him credit. It remained on the back burner. There’s been a 50-50 fight about how we incorporate it for a long time.
O’Conner cut down the left wing to answer a conventional three-point play, but URI opted not to call a timeout after the made free throw. Miller already had Thomas on the ball and didn’t want George Mason to change defenses in his group. It was a move that ultimately helped the Rams match Kingston’s 9-0 start they enjoyed during a special 2017-18 campaign.
“Find a way to score so we can win the game,” Thomas said. “I’ve been in this position a few times this year and it’s worked for me.”
URI (12-2, 1-1 Atlantic 10) managed to come back even thanks to some defensive energy. David Green’s steal in the lane led to a Diboundje layup in transition on the left side with 4:30 to play. Javonte Brown’s blocked shot — one of his career-high six — sent Thomas to the left side for a layup that made it 54-54 with 3:53 left, and the Patriots (10 -5, 1-1) were forced to use a timeout.
“The message at halftime wasn’t so much basketball as our unity — to shake us up,” Miller said. “We had to give ourselves more energy. You had to have a little enthusiasm. »
It was Diboundje’s first appearance since a few late minutes in a blowout of Charleston on Nov. 24, as the Rams were juggling their rotation after a 67-55 lead against the Dukes. Miller went further in the second half, putting Tyonne Farrell on the bench for the final 15:46 and Cam Estevez alongside him for the final 10:13. Thomas, Lawrence, Diboundje, Green, Brown, Jaden House and David Fuchs were the first seven to limit George Mason to 1 of 8 from 3-point range, cobble together a 9-2 advantage on nine turnovers and pressure the paint . to the tune of a margin of plus-11 on free throws made.
“We just had to get back to our basics — Rhode Island basketball,” Brown said. “Play physically and move side by side.”
URI was fortunate to trail by just nine points at the break, suffering a 10:23 field goal drought and finding itself on the wrong end of a 15-0 run. Brown’s setback with 5:27 left drew sarcastic cheers from a crowd of 5,803 fans, a gathering whose mood had flipped 180 degrees during the final race. The Patriots finished just 9 of 18, including a 1 of 7 start to the second half.
“We really had no reason to win this game for a long period of time in the first half,” Miller said. “It could have escaped our notice.”
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This article was originally published in the Providence Journal: Sebastian Thomas leads Rhode Island basketball past George Mason, 62-59
