CCRI Roundup

Knights drop trio of games on Florida trip

Posted 1/6/15

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team has traveled to Florida during semester break to take on two very potent Division I men’s basketball programs. In their first game, the Knights …

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CCRI Roundup

Knights drop trio of games on Florida trip

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The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team has traveled to Florida during semester break to take on two very potent Division I men’s basketball programs. In their first game, the Knights faced the very talented 12-3 Panthers of Palm Beach State College. The Knights lost to the Panthers 82-69. With the loss, the Knights fell to 9-6 on the season, while the Panthers improved to 13-3.

The Knights fell behind the Panthers early, 25-10, but were able to cut the lead to 10 points, 31-21, before Palm Beach closed the half with a 15-0 run to take a 46-21 lead into the halftime break. In the second half the Knights played much better, outscoring the Panthers, 48-36, as CCRI drained six 3-pointers, but the lead was too much for the Knights to overcome as they would eventually fall by the final score of 82-69.

Leading the way for the Knights was freshman center Grant Gillis (Jamestown, R.I.), who scored a team-high 13 points with four rebounds, followed by tri-captain Malieke Young (Providence, R.I.), who scored 12 points, including three 3-pointers and three steals. Also helping CCRI was Samuel Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who added nine points with two assists and a steal and tri-captain Anthony Jernigan (East Hartford, Conn.) dished-out a team-high five assists.  

Knights fall to Miami-Dade

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team continued on their Florida road trip by traveling to Miami to play the Division I Sharks of Miami-Dade College. The Knights lost to the Sharks 75-49. With the loss, the Knights drop to 9-7 on the season. 

The Sharks jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead, but the Knights did everything they could to stay with the very athletic and very tall Miami-Dade squad. Despite CCRI’s efforts, Dade was able to keep their lead around 10 for much of the first half.

In the second half, the Sharks extended their lead to 20 points and never looked back, as they went on to win by the final score of 74-49. 

Leading the way for the Knights was Jordan Grant (Ledyard, Conn.) with six points and a team-high eight rebounds and Grant Gillis (Jamestown, R.I.) with six points and two rebounds. Also helping CCRI was tri-captain Jerome Harris (Hartford, Conn.) with five points and four rebounds, while Malieke Young (Providence, R.I.) and freshman Mike DeJesus (Cranston, R.I.) each added six points with two 3-pointers apiece.   

To round out the Florida trip, the Knights traveled to Johnson & Wales of North Miami and lost to the Wildcats 82-76 in a scrimmage. The Wildcats are coached by former West Warwick and CCRI standout David Graham. 

J&W jumped out to an early 9-0 lead, but this was a highly-contested game with the score even, 42-42, at halftime. In the second half, the two teams continued to play even with the score tied, 78-78, with 45 seconds remaining. The Knights missed a layup to go ahead and the Wildcats went down the floor and scored to secure the victory.

Young led the Knights with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, followed by Marshall Nelson (Perth, Australia), who added 16 points and Gillis turned in his third solid game of the trip with 13 points and eight rebounds. 

“This was a great trip for our team, especially the 80-degree weather,” head coach Rick Harris said. “This trip helped our team develop its mental toughness, as well as their continued development of team play. This will hopefully set the tone for the second half of our season.”    

The next games for the Knights will be this weekend, when they host the 2015 CCRI Invitational. On Saturday they will face the Vikings of Mercer County CC at 7 p.m. and Sunday they will face Division I powerhouse Monroe College at 6 p.m. 

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