March 9, 2005

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The University of Rhode Island men's basketball team's injury plagued 2004-05 season came to an end on Wednesday afternoon with a 68-60 loss to Richmond in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at US Bank Arena.

Rhody led by nine at the half, but Richmond (14-14) came back to lead by as many as 10 with 5:02 remaining. The Rams cut the gap to three in the final minutes, but couldn't get any closer. Richmond (14-14) moves on to face top-seed Saint Joseph's on Thursday afternoon at 12:00 p.m.

"We just came out less aggressive in the second half and they did what we did in the first half," Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron said. "They got to the foul line and I thought that was one of the keys to the game."

The loss overshadowed a strong performance by Rhode Island freshman Will Daniels, who led the Rams with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and had two steals in a season-high 35 minutes of action.

"I think Will has just been consistent in stepping up for us on the wing and being athletic," Baron said.

Rhode Island finishes the season at 6-22 overall, having to play all but one minute of the season without last year's leading scorer Dawan Robinson, who was a preseason first-team All-Atlantic 10 pick. Returning starter Jamaal Wise played in only one game all season for the Rams due to an injury, but both players should be granted an additional year of eligibility for next season.

Richmond junior Kevin Steenberge scored 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and forward Jermaine Bucknor added 17 off the bench.

"It just seemed like they were trying to get it inside and Steenberge did a great job of taking the ball to the bucket and he did a great job of stepping up and making shots," Baron said.

Steenberge scored seven points in the opening 4:12 of the game, including a pair of ally-oop dunks, as Richmond jumped out to an early 10-0 lead. Rhode Island stormed back and took its first lead of the game at 19-16 on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Parfait Bitee with 4:18 remaining. The Rams closed out the first session on a 21-5 run, including a 9-0 spurt to end the half and held a 30-21 lead at intermission. Daniels keyed the Rhode Island run with 11 points in the first half.

A layup by forward Scott Hazelton at the 17:25 mark gave URI a 34-25 advantage before the Spiders answered with 3-point baskets by Bucknor and freshman guard Andres Sandoval and regained the lead for good on a Steenberge layup at the 10:15 to go. A pair of foul shots by forward Gaston Moliva pushed Richmond's lead to 56-46 at the 5:02 mark before 3-point field goals by Daniels and junior Tyrese Sullivan pulled Rhode Island to within 61-58 with 53 seconds remaining.

Sandoval made four foul shots down the stretch to seal the Spiders win.

"I thought our kids showed tremendous energy in the second half," said Richmond head coach Jerry Wainwright. "We're obviously very happy we won."

Sandoval added 10 points and five boards for the Spiders, which shot just under 55 percent (12-for-22) in the second half.