Peyton Aldridge had 18 points and Kellan Grady added 16 points off the bench to lead Davidson (18-11, 13-5 Atlantic 10), which won for the fifth time in six games.
Jared Terrell had 22 points to lead the Rams (23-6, 15-3), who already clinched the A-10 title but lost for the third time in five games. Terrell was Rhode Island's only player with more than 11 points, but he missed crucial free throws with 27 and 15 seconds left, and Davidson capitalized.
Coming off a 117-113 triple-overtime loss to St. Bonaventure on Tuesday -- a game in which Aldridge had a career-high 45 points -- the Wildcats showed fortitude down the stretch.
The Wildcats scored the final nine points of the game -- six by Grady -- over the last two minutes. Rhode Island led by seven with 2:47 left, but Grady had six straight points down the stretch to cut the lead to 61-60.
Terrell had 16 points at halftime as Rhode Island built a 35-29 lead. The Rams shot just 44 percent from the field in the first half but held Davidson to 39 percent shooting and outrebounded the Wildcats, 20-14. Grady had 10 points in the first half to lead Davidson.
Gudmundsson added 11 points, six rebounds and six assists for Davidson, which shot 39.3 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the free throw line. Rhode Island shot 40.3 percent and 45.5 percent from the free throw line.
Stanford Robinson and Cyril Langevine each had 11 points for the Rams, and Langevine added 11 rebounds to lead Rhode Island, which outrebounded Davidson, 40-34.
Both teams play next Thursday in the second round of the A-10 tournament at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
--Field Level Media
Rhode Island | Davidson | |
Jared Terrell 22 | Scoring | Peyton Aldridge 18 |
E.C. Matthews 4 | Assists | Jon Axel Gudmundsson 6 |
Cyril Langevine 11 | Rebounds | Peyton Aldridge 12 |
Fatts Russell 2 | Free Throws Made | Jon Axel Gudmundsson 6 |
E.C. Matthews 1 | Steals | Kellan Grady 2 |
E.C. Matthews 1 | Blocks | Oskar Michelsen 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Rhode Island | 61 | 40.3 | 6-24 | 5-11 | 10 | 39 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Davidson | 63 | 39.3 | 7-28 | 12-14 | 10 | 34 | 2 | 3 | 8 |