Richmond hits 4 3s in early run that leads Rhode Island over Saint Louis, 63-47

Richmond 3s, Rhode Island D lead Rams to victory

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Freshman Akeem Richmond hit four 3-pointers early and Rhode Island kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive with its best defensive effort of the season in a 63-47 win over Saint Louis in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Friday.

Mitchell had 12 of his 13 points in the 16-1 spurt that gave the fifth-seeded Rams (23-8) the lead for good.

Lamonte Ulmer added 12 of his 16 points in the second half for the Rams, whose previous defensive low was 57 in a season-opening win against Brown.

Rhode Island will play No. 17 Temple (27-5) in the semifinals on Saturday. The top-seeded and two-time defending champion Owls beat St. Bonaventure 69-51 earlier Friday.

Kwamain Mitchell had 18 points for fourth-seeded Saint Louis (20-11), which lost for the third time in 11 games.