Marshon Brooks had a game-high 26 points and Vincent Council nearly had a triple-double as Providence defeated visiting rival Rhode Island 87-74 on Saturday.

Council finished with 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and Gerald Coleman added 15 points.

Providence led 43-39 at the half and opened the second on a furious run to take a 13-point lead. Rhode Island (5-3) closed the gap to 64-55, but the Rams could get no closer, as the Friars committed just one turnover in the first 15 minutes of the second half to take control. Providence (8-1) extended the lead to 17 points in the closing minutes.

URI, which buried 14 3-pointers in its season-opening 83-75 loss against Pitt, tried to come back in this one by the same route. But the Rams went just 9-of-25 from long range.

Delroy James led Rhode Island with 25 points and Marquis Jones had 15.