and Westwood stood strong again on 55 minutes to block a Dawson effort away at the back post. Hull manager Steve Br

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- No. 21 Rhode Island had its first real test of the season -- and passed.E.C. Matthews hit two late 3-pointers and finished with 18 points in the Rams 76-71 comeback victory over No. 24 Cincinnati on Saturday in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.Kuren Iverson added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jared Terrell and Hassan Martin each scored 14 points for URI (4-0), which will face top-ranked Duke for the championship Sunday.I was coaching high school seven years ago, driving vans and mini-cheese buses around, coach Danny Hurley said. Now were nationally ranked and playing Duke for a championship. The premier program in the country that embodies everything youd want in a college program. It kind of means a lotJacob Evans scored 25 points and Kyle Washington had 23 for Cincinnati (2-1).Rhode Island trailed by 12 points and was down 39-31 at halftime, but took the momentum in the second half.Iverson gave the Rams their first lead with just under 14 minutes remaining, 49-48, with a pair of free throws.But the Bearcats responded by scoring the next six points, and the teams went back-and-forth from there.Matthews 3-pointer from the left corner put Rhode Island up 63-58. His 3-pointer from the other side made it 74-69 with 21 seconds left and the Rams held on to win, despite never leading by more than five points.We practice really hard. The A-10 and our practices prepared us for (the tough game), Terrell said. Everybody has to play defense at a high level. They do the same thing. But when you do it every day, you get used to it.Troy Caupain had seven of his 12 points in the opening minutes; including a jumper that gave the Rams a 14-4 lead. They would stretch that to 24-12 before the Rams began their comeback.Rhode Island cut the lead to 36-31 before a 3-pointer by Washington gave Cincinnati an eight point halftime lead.There was a scary moment in the first half when URI point guard Jarvis Garrett fell hard underneath his teams basket and was taken from the floor on a stretcher.He appeared to hit his head on a cameraman on his way to the ground, snapping his neck back.He lay on the floor being treated for several minutes and was placed in a neck brace before walking under his own power to the stretcher. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation.We did get a text from him, Hurley said. Our guys love for him and love for each other as brothers just caused them to raise their level and want it even more.BIG PICTURECincinnati: The Bearcats were playing what amounted to a road game, just 41 miles from the URI campus. The American Conference pre-season favorites will try to bounce back from their first loss of the season on Sunday.They were the tougher team, said Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin. They taught us a lot about ourselves today and our deficiencies with physical and mental toughness.Rhode Island: Coach Danny Hurleys team outscored its first three opponents by an average of 90-66, but had to show resilience in this one, battling back from a 12-point first half deficit. No. 1 Duke is a handful the Blue Devils will be playing their third game in less than a week on Sunday and are extremely short on depth because of injuries.POLL IMPLICATIONS:Cincinnati may fall out of the Top 25, but shouldnt be hurt much by an early season loss to the nations No. 21 team, as long as they take care of business Sunday against Penn StateRANKING THE WINRhode Island beat a Top 25 opponent for just the second time during Hurleys coaching tenure. The only other win came against No. 21 Nebraska in 2014. The Rams are 15-96 against ranked teams.UP NEXTRhode Island is next in line to take a shot at No. 1 Duke. The Blue Devils remain on top until the new poll is released Monday -- despite losing to Kansas 77-75 on Tuesday. Duke beat Penn State in Saturdays first game.Cincinnati gets the consolation matchup in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off and will play Penn State on Sunday. The Nittany Lions could not manage a second-half run and lost to the Blue Devils 78-68 on Saturday.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25Hydro Flask Billig .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Hydro Flaske . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. http://www.norgehydroflask.com/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Hydro Flask Prisjakt .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Hydro Flask i Butikk .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition.Hull City secured promotion back to the Premier League after beating Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final.Mo Diame struck a sensational winning goal 18 minutes from time as Steve Bruces men joined Burnley and Middlesbrough back in the big time after just one season away and banked an estimated £110m in the process.It needed something special to beat Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, who was in inspired form in front of 40,000 raucous Owls fans. Dejected Sheffield Wednesday players are left on the Wembley pitch Carlos Carvalhals team, seeking to end a 16-year absence from the top flight, finished with four strikers on the pitch but failed to really test a well-drilled Hull defence, led impeccably by Michael Dawson and Curtis Davies.Roared on by a vibrant sea of blue and white, Wednesday started brightly, using the big Wembley pitch to their advantage. Dawson had to take one for his Hull team on 11 minutes when he scythed down Fernando Forestieri, who had raced away down down the right. Fernando Forestieri (right) and Michael Dawson of Hull City compete for the ball Although they enjoyed plenty of possession, only a Ross Wallace free-kick troubled Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic.After soaking up the early pressure, Hull then took over.Abel Hernandez had struggled to get into the game but had an effort cleared off the line by Kieran Lee after Wednesday had struggled to deal with a corner. Hull City midfielder Tom Huddlestone tackles Sheffield Wednesday defender Sam Hutchinson (2L) That was close, but he went even closer on 35 minutes. Diame threaded a wonderful ball through to the striker, who took the ball in his stride and was only denied by a fantastic save by Westwood.The woodwork came to Wednesdays rescue moments later as Hull surged forward. Diame wriggled his way into the box and managed to fire an effort at goal from an impossible angle. It was a cracking hit but the goal frame blocked it away. Diames goal sends Hull back to the Premier League at the first time of asking Westwood then had to be alert minutes later to deny Moses Odubajo, who had scampered in behind.Wednesday might have had the advantage when it came to noise from the stands and their side were denied by a fantastic last-ditch tackkle by Curtis Davies as Forestieri headed through on goal on 49 minutes.ddddddddddddBack came Hull, though, and Westwood stood strong again on 55 minutes to block a Dawson effort away at the back post. Hull manager Steve Bruce says a bit of magic from Diame has won his side their Championship play-off final Andrew Robertson then had a Wembley moment to forget as he spurned a fantastic chance. Odubajo led a quick Hull counter and he put the ball on a plate for the full-back 10 yards out but he skied his effort horribly wide.His teammate Diame showed him how it should be done with 18 minutes remaining. Picking the ball up about 30 yards from goal he only had one thing on his mind. He got the ball out of his feet and struck a sensational effort into the top corner. Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal praised his sides season but admitted Hull were the better team It was a Premier League-class goal and Wednesday had no response.Hull City are back in the Premier League at the first time of asking and Bruce has made his own history, becoming the first manager to win four promotions to the top flight in the Premier League era. ' ' '