Welcome back, E.C. Matthews. Your fans were waiting.

The Rhode Island guard, whose 2015-16 season ended after just 10 minutes because of a knee injury, returned to the court with a bang on Friday night.

Matthews was introduced last among the starters and was welcomed by the Ryan Center crowd.

Less than three minutes into the game, he hit a 3-pointer to clear the 1,000-point career hurdle. Matthews went on to scored 21 points on 9-for-12 from the floor, and add three steals, in the No. 23 Rams' 84-61 non-conference blowout of Dartmouth at Kingston, R.I.

"It was amazing just being out there with the teammates and the vibe and the atmosphere," Matthews said after the game. "I almost forgot because it had been so long. You could smell it in the air."

The air has been positive around this team heading into this season. The Rams were the only Atlantic 10 team ranked but were picked to finish behind Dayton in the conference. But it's clear this URI team will be right there.

Hassan Martin added the 16th double-double of his college career with 12 points and 10 rebounds and picked up seven of the Rams' 11 blocked shots.

Martin, who also had a knee injury last season, played just 24 minutes but took a run at his second career triple-double.

"It was fun to finally get my bounce back and start blocking shots again," Martin said. "My timing is back on track, which is good for the team."

Jared Terrell and Kuran Iverson were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Rhode Island, which led 39-26 at halftime.

Stanford Robinson, a transfer from Indiana, made his URI debut, played 19 minutes and had seven points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals -- without a turnover.

Evan Boudreaux had a double-double for Dartmouth with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Guilien Smith added 13 points for the Big Green. But Miles Wright and Boudreaux, the last two Ivy League rookies of the year, combined to go 6-for-25 from the floor in the loss.

URI held Dartmouth, playing its first game under new coach David McLaughlin, without a field goal for some nine minutes in the first half, turning a four-point lead into a 19-point rout.

"It's been several months -- a year for some -- since we've been on the court," said URI coach Dan Hurley. "The crowd and all the anticipation of our first game -- we've all been working so hard. We're just excited about the season."

NOTES: URI coach Danny Hurley knows there are high expectations for his team but is confident. "I think we check most of the boxes," he said recently. "Veteran team. We have shooting. We've got guard play. We've got depth. We've got size. Great culture. We've got leadership." ... URI is ranked in both polls preseason for the first time since 1998-99 -- and ranked at any time since 2007-08. ... The Rams host Marist on Monday night while the Big Green are home for Fairfield on Tuesday. ... Rhode Island improved to 121-65 all-time against the Ivy League.