Nov. 27, 1999

Box Score

HILO, Hawaii (AP) - Zach Marbury scored 24 points, Luther Clay added 18 and they combined to make five big free throws over the final 37 seconds Saturday and lead Rhode Island to a 73-69 victory over Cleveland State in the consolation bracket of the Big Island Invitational.

The Rams (1-2) will meet the winner of the game between Mercer and Hawaii-Hilo for fifth place on Sunday.

Rhode Island, which lost 79-70 in overtime to Santa Clara in the opening round, took the lead for good with an 11-0 run that made it 64-59 with 3:44 to play. Marbury and Clay each had four points in that run.

Cleveland State (0-3), which lost 91-56 to No. 1 Cincinnati in the opening round, was within 68-67 with 44 seconds left on a long layup by Damon Stringer.

Marbury made two free throws seven seconds later then, after a missed 3-point attempt by James Madison of the Vikings, made one of two with 23 seconds left for a 71-67 lead.

Stringer, who finished with 20 points, scored on a drive by 17 seconds left to make it 71-69. Twice Cleveland State fouled to try and get the Rams to the line but took advantage of the experimental rule being used in certain preseason games and both times took the ball out of bounds.

With five seconds left, Clay was fouled and he went to the line and made both free throws for a 73-69 lead.

Tiger Womack had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Rams, while Clay grabbed 11 rebounds as they finished with a 44-38 advantage off the boards.

Sonny Johnson and Tahric Gosley each had 10 points for Cleveland State, which beat Rhode Island 73-72 last season on a last-second shot.

It was the first collegiate win as head coach for Jerry DeGregorio, who replaced Jim Harrick this season.