The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team hit the road on Saturday to face off against D-I ASA College in New York, N.Y. The Knights were unable to steal a win on the road against the strong Division I team and lost the game 113-82. The loss puts the Knights at 15-10 on the season.

The game started off even with both teams showing a lot of energy on defense. After the first five minutes the game was tied up at 10 points apiece. ASA then showed why it is 17-5 on the season. ASA went on a 44-22 run to finish the half, taking a 22-point lead into the break.

The Knights had no problem scoring in the second half, but could not find a way to stop the relentless ASA attack. CCRI dropped 50 points in the half, but gave up 59 in the process, leading to the 113-82 loss.

Tri-captain Edvaldo Ferreira (Cape Verde) was outstanding once again for the Knights. He led the Knights in points with 27, rebounds with 14 and blocks with four. The 14 boards kept him right around his season average of 14.3 per game, which still leads all of NJCAA D-II. He still also leads the nation in blocks per game with five.

Adrian La Fleur (Sydney, Australia) had another solid game for the Knights, posting 14 points, five assists and three steals. Joe Santiago (Willimantic, Conn.) added 11 points for the Knights and Elijah Vazquez (Woonsocket, R.I.) added nine on three made 3-pointers.

Head Coach Rick Harris had this to say about the tough loss: “After the first four minutes (in which we got out to a 10-4 lead) we were not ready for a strong ASA team. They brought both physical and mental toughness to the court, which we could not match. Our young men are still learning the importance of competing hard on each and every offensive and defensive trip. ASA did just that and hopefully we learned something from this game. We competed at times, but not on a consistent basis Saturday. We will get back to work this week and prepare for Wednesday’s matchup with Dean. At this point that is all we need to focus on.”