No. 18 Saint Louis loses 81-76 at Rhode Island, ending 18-game win streak

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Rhode Island guard RJ Johnson (22) and forward Keeyan Itejere (40) celebrate their win over Saint Louis in an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in South Kingstown, R.I. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Saint Louis guard Quentin Jones, center, attempts a layup between Rhode Island guard RJ Johnson, left, and Rhode Island forward Keeyan Itejere during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in South Kingstown, R.I. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell) — Rhode Island guard RJ Johnson (22) and forward Keeyan Itejere (40) celebrate their win over Saint Louis in an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in South Kingstown, R.I. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

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9:08 PM on Tuesday, February 17

By BRENDAN McGAIR

KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — Jonah Hinton made nine 3-pointers and scored 29 points as Rhode Island upset No. 18 Saint Louis 81-76 on Tuesday night, snapping the Billikens’ 18-game winning streak.

Robbie Avila led Saint Louis (24-2, 12-1 Atlantic 10) with 21 points and Dion Brown added 19. The Billikens committed 18 turnovers and trailed for 36 minutes.

The 18-game run had marked the second-longest active winning streak in the country, and the program’s longest since the 2013-14 squad won a school-record 19 games in a row.

Down 79-76 after URI’s Myles Corey made both free throws with 26.3 seconds remaining, Saint Louis had two chances to tie but Avila and Ishan Sharma each missed from beyond the arc. Tyler Cochran wrapped it up for the Rams (15-11, 6-7) by sinking two free throws with 13.6 seconds left.

Corey had 15 points and was 11 of 11 from the foul line. Cochran scored 11.

Saint Louis opened 5 of 9 from the field but trailed 22-15 midway through the first half after committing 10 turnovers. The deficit was six at halftime as the Billikens couldn’t slow down Hinton, whose 23 points came on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and 7 for 9 from 3-point territory.

The Billikens’ quest to improve to 4-0 this season when trailing at the break became tougher when Hinton kept connecting from long range. His ninth 3 gave the Rams a 65-58 lead with 8:48 left.

Saint Louis is ranked in the AP Top 25 for the fifth straight week.

Up next

Saint Louis hosts Virginia Commonwealth on Friday in a matchup for first place in the Atlantic 10.

Rhode Island visits La Salle on Saturday.

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