Rhode Island holds off Richmond 78-74

bbo RICHMOND, Va. – Nikola Malesevic had 24 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs, as Rhode Island defeated Richmond 78-74 on Thursday night.

Malesevic made 6 of 8 3-pointers and the Rams were 12 of 27 (44.4 percent) from behind the arc. It was the Rams' first win at Richmond in eight tries.

The last three games in the series have been decided by a total of nine points. Neither team led by more than seven points Thursday and there were 15 lead changes.

Rhode Island took the lead for good with a 6-0 surge for a 69-64 lead with 5:58 to play. Orion Outerbridge, who had 18 points for the Rams, capped the run with two free throws. Akeem Richmond added 12 points for the Rams (10-6, 1-1 Atlantic 10 Conference), who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Justin Harper scored 25 points and Kevin Anderson had 20 for the Spiders (13-5, 2-1), who had a two-game winning streak broken.