Jan. 15, 2000

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Zach Marbury had 20 points and Tavorris Bell added 19 as Rhode Island snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 75-66 win over La Salle Saturday afternoon.

Luther Clay had 15 points for the Rams (4-12, 1-2), who were 30-for-55 (55 percent) from the field and finished the first half with a 22-4 run to break open a 16-16 tie. Rhode Island scored the last eight points of the half, thanks in part to two consecutive turnovers. Bell had 10 points in that run, including eight straight during a stretch.

La Salle (6-8, 0-3), which has lost seven straight games, was led by Victor Thomas with 30 points and Rasul Butler with 13. Donnie Carr, usually the Explorers primary offensive threat, did not score for the first 33 minutes and was held to just eight points in his third game back after missing a month due to pneumonia.

Rhode Island opened up their biggest lead of the game when Clay hit a jumper with 19:07 left in the second half to put the Rams ahead 40-20. La Salle then went on a 16-4 run of their own to pull to within eight, 44-36.

After both teams exchanged baskets for a few minutes, Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 3:38 left to pull the Explorers to within seven, 60-53, with 3:38 to go. They would get no closer and Howard Smith made five-of-six from the foul line to clinch the win.

The victory was the Rams' first since beating Brown 77-70 on December 1. La Salle's last win came on December 18 when they defeated Drexel 70-54.