NCAA Tournament scores 2017: Rhode Island runs out of steam, falls to Oregon, 75-72

That one hurt from here.

Despite leading for most of the game, the 11 seed Rhode Island Rams weren’t able to take it all the way to the finish line, as they fell just short against 3 seed Oregon, 75-72.

The Rams took it right down to the wire, but a three from Tyler Dorsey in the waning moments was the death knell for Rhode Island’s season.

At the end of the day, Rhode Island just couldn’t keep Oregon’s dynamic wing duo of Dorsey and Dillon Brooks, who combined for 46 points. Brooks seemed to be well bottled up, but, as he is wont to do, he exploded late, hitting a couple of must-make buckets when the team needed them the most. Dorsey was a force all night long, carrying his team with a barrage of jump shots, no bigger than the game winner he hit with 36 seconds left. He finished with 27 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. No one could stop him.

For Rhode Island, the loss will unfortunately overshadow what was an incredible effort. Stanford Robinson tied his career high by cashing in 21 points off the bench. Jared Terrell scored 15 points and dished out six assists. 30 of Rhode Island’s 75 points came from its bench. It was an all-hands-on-deck kind of game, and one that the Rams will undoubtedly think they could have, and should have, won.

Early in the second half, Rhode Island built a double-digit lead, and it seemed as though it had an answer for every punch Oregon could throw. But the tough jump shots that they were hitting with aplomb early dried up, and Oregon capitalized, taking the lead at the two minute warning and never relinquishing it.

The Atlantic 10 champion Rams came as close as they could to pulling off an incredible upset. Instead, there’s only heartbreak in Kingston as a terrific effort proved to be close but not quite good enough.