Anchormen Survive Worcester State University in a battle, 79-74

Abdoulaye Kourouma

Anchor Contributor

RIC head coach Sam Ferry talking to his team. (Photo cred. @ChinoClipz on Instagram)

Tuesday afternoon on Veterans Day, the Rhode Island College Anchormen basketball team took on Worcester State University in the Murray Center in a thrilling match, with RIC notching a five-point victory, 79-74. The Anchormen looked to avenge for last year’s game, coming up short by two points in a 73-71 loss. 

The Anchormen and the Lancers started off on the same pace, as both teams looked to push the ball. Senior guard Kanye Wavezwa got things started for RIC as he scored on a layup as well as a three-pointer to give the Anchormen a 5-2 start over Worcester State. The Lancers though ended up going on a run and led 24-17 with about eight minutes left to play in the first half. 

The Anchormen eventually found their groove as Noe Bom, a freshman guard from Hamburg, Germany, put up four points with two minutes left in the first half to give the Anchormen the lead, 37-33.

Worcester State surged in to open the second half, and took the lead back five minutes in, but the Anchormen remained competitive with the Lancers. Junior forward Xavier Mendez would score a layup down the stretch with a great assist from his front-court partner, senior forward Tyreek Weeks, to take the lead 72-69. With under a minute to go, Weeks also knocked down a huge triple, and had a game-closing block that secured the win for the Anchormen. 

RIC’s Noe Bom. (Photo by Carlos Caceres)

Weeks finished the game with a double-double. His 15 point, 12 rebound statline made it his second straight double-double to open up the season. Mendez notched a double-double as well with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Bom finished with 14 points and seven assists. Sophomore guard Jalen Claude knocked down three three-pointers, finishing with 12 points.  Wavezwa and freshman Kyle Prete each chipped in eight points. The Anchormen are now 2-0 to open up regular season action.

At the time of this article’s release, RIC will have played the Massachusetts Institute of Technology over the weekend. The Anchormen return to the Murray Center to battle Brandeis University for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

For more sports stories and interviews, visit anchorweb.org and follow @rictheanchor on Instagram.