Nov. 25, 2006

Box Score

BOSTON -- Will Daniels scored 19 points and Jimmy Baron added 12 as Rhode Island dropped an 86-68 decision at #23 Boston College.

Daniels was 5-for-10 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, while also grabbed four boards. Baron was 5-for-7 and connected on both of his attempts from the perimeter.

Rhody started off the game strong, racing out to an 8-0 lead paced by back-to-back threes from Daniels and Parfait Bitee and two Darrell Harris free throws. BC scored six unanswered, cutting the Rams lead to two, but Rhode Island would go back up eight, after a Baron three with 14:13 remaining in the period made it 17-9.

The Eagles turned up their defensive pressure and their offensive output, as they went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:41, taking a 19-17 lead with 11:55 to play. From there, the Rams offense went cold as Boston College began to heat up from the outside. BC led by as many as 17 points and took a 47-30 lead into the locker room at the break. They shot 57.1% from the floor, connecting on 7-of-14 from the outside.

"I thought we started the game strong, hitting some open jumpers, but their defense and pressure caused us to panic a bit." head coach Jim Baron said. "We dug ourselves in a hole in the first half and we weren't able to climb out of it. You can't do that against good teams like Boston College on the road."

In the second half, a Tyrese Rice layup gave BC a 21-point advantage - 62-41 - with 11:57 to play. But Rhody would storm back, going on a 10-0 run over the next 2:37, capped by a Daniels trey, which made it 64-53. But that was as close as URI would get, as Boston College outpaced the Rams down the stretch.

"We knew they were coming in off two losses and that they would be looking to turn it around." Daniels said. "I think once they started to turn us over on defense, plus Sean Williams' shotblocking, it changed the way we played. We relied too much on our jump shots rather than take it inside."

The BC center blocked seven Rams shots and altered several more.

Lamonte Ulmer tallied a career-high 11 points, while also pulling down seven boards. Parfait Bitee added 10 points. Kahiem Seawright added six rebounds and three steals.

"I thought Lamonte played a great game tonight." Baron said. "He gave us great energy off the bench and played aggressive on both sides of the floor."

For the game, URI shot just 36.1% from the floor, but were 7-of-14 from the outside. The Rams knocked down 17-of-23 from the charity stripe (73.9%). They outrebounded BC, 37-35.

The Rams return to action on Tuesday night at the Ryan Center, when they take on Iona. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

"That's our focus now." said Jimmy Baron. "This game is behind us and we need to try to take some of the lessons from today's game and learn from them on Tuesday."

Notes: The 11 points for Lamonte Ulmer was a career-high...BC outscored URI 38-24 in the paint and 31-16 off turnovers...Rhode doubled their 2nd chance points, at 26-13...Will Daniels has tallied double-figures in scoring in all six Rhody games this season...Kahiem Seawright was held to a season-low six rebounds