Jan. 3, 2007
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KINGSTON, R.I. -- Will Daniels poured in a career-high 26 points as Rhode Island held on for a 69-66 win at home over La Salle in the Atlantic 10 opener for both squads.
Daniels was 10-for-18 from the floor, including 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, while connecting on all five attempts from the charity stripe. He also grabbed six rebounds and had three assists in 35 minutes of action.
It was a tale of two halves, as the Rams dominated the first 20:00 of play. A three-pointer by Jimmy Baron with 13:36 to go in the half made it, 16-6, URI. La Salle got as close as eight points (18-10), but the Rhody offense kicked into high gear, outscoring the Explorers 21-11 down the stretch, building as much as a 22-point lead along the way (39-17, 1:11).
The Rams shot 60.0% from the floor (15-for-25) and outrebounded La Salle, 17-16, while also holding the Explorers to just 27.6% shooting from the field (27.6%).
"I told the guys that it was 0-0 and a whole new ballgame, because La Salle was going to come out of the locker room and pick it up in the second half." head coach Jim Baron said. "I don't know if we got tentative or complacent, but we let them back in it. We had an upperclassman - Will Daniels - step up and help the team win tonight."
La Salle began the second half on a 9-0 run, capped by a Ruben Guillandeaux trey with 17:18 left in regulation, making it 39-30, Rams. A Darrell Harris three would put Rhody back up 14 (44-30, 16:04), but the Explorers began chipping away at the lead as the Rams went cold from the field. A 20-10 push over the 7:38, capped by another La Salle trifecta, made it 54-50 with 8:26 to go.
The Rams took each run from the Explorers and were able to withstand it, even after another La Salle three-pointer tied the game at 66-66 with just under two minutes left. Daniels put Rhode Island up for good on his 26th point of the night with :28 seconds remaining. La Salle had several good looks at the basket close up with seven ticks left, but were unable to convert and fouled Kahiem Seawright with two seconds left.
"Both Darrell (Harris) and Kahiem (Seawright) had their big guys on them, so it was a bit of a mismatch out there with Will and we tried to get him the ball inside as much as we could." Baron explained. "Give La Salle credit, they hit some big shots - some big threes - in the second half to keep them in it. But credit our guys for taking their best shot and not breaking."
Seawright hit 1-of-2 from the line and La Salle, after a timeout, set up a play for a long three, which rattled off the iron, sealing the URI victory. La Salle shot 42.4% from the floor for the game - including 56.7% in the second half. They outrebounded Rhode Island, 32-30.
"We won the game tonight." Daniels stated. "Coach Baron did a good job running plays for me, my teammates were able to find me open, and I hit the shots...but it's not me. It's a we thing. We did a collective good job in a team victory."
Jimmy Baron ended with 12 points, all in the first half. Kahiem Seawright had nine points and nine rebounds, while Darrell Harris had seven points and eight boards. Parfait Bitee had eight points.
Rhode Island returns to action on Sunday at noon, when it hosts Dayton in an Atlantic 10 matchup.
"This is the second season and the time of year where every game counts so much more, because it's in conference play." Baron said.
Notes: Horace "Pappy" Owens, a 1983 graduate and member of URI's 100th Anniversary Team, was honored prior to tonight's game. Owens is an assistant coach with La Salle...Jimmy Baron connected on his first three 3-point field goals of the night and ended with 12 points (3-of-6 3FG). He was also 3-of-4 from the charity stripe...The Rams' 18 turnovers were the most since the Dec. 9 game at home vs. Utah...Kahiem Seawright narrowly missed a double-double, with nine points and nine rebounds...With the Rams shooting 51.1% from the floor, it marked the sixth time that they squad shot better than 50% from the floor during a game. URI is 6-0 in those games...Joe Mbang continues to struggle from the floor, going 0-for-2 from beyond the arc. He has missed his last 10 attempts from long-distance.
