Feb. 21, 2007

Box Score

CINCINNATI -- Jimmy Baron scored a team-high 21 points, leading four others in double-figures as Rhode Island dropped a 98-72 decision at Xavier. With the loss, URI (17-11, 10-4 A-10) drops into third place in the Atlantic 10 standings - just a half-game behind Xavier (20-7, 10-3 A-10) and Massachusetts.

Baron was 7-of-11 from the floor, including two 3FG, while connecting on all five of his attempts from the free throw line.

The Musketeers never trailed in the ballgame, jumping out to an 11-4 lead just 4:04 into the contest. The Xavier lead grew to as many as 14 - at 26-12, with 7:34 remaining - but Rhody went on a 10-2 run over the next 2:17, thanks to four points each from Will Daniels and Kahiem Seawright. The run cut the Rhody deficit to 28-22, with 5:02 left in the half.

A deep three-pointer from Baron with 1:13 left cut it to 35-30, but two free throws by Xavier with five second left made it 39-32 at the break. The Rams shot 40.7% from the floor in the first half (11-27), but were just 1-of-9 from the perimeter.

"We began the game flat, relying too much on the outside shot, and we dug ourselves in a hole." head coach Jim Baron said. "We only had four assists and four offensive rebounds in the first half. That's not our style."

In the second half, both teams traded baskets through the first eight minutes of the half, before the Musketeers took over. XU outscored Rhody, 40-22, over the last 12:10 of the game, due in large part to outstanding shooting from the floor and the charity stripe. Xavier connected on 70.8% from the floor, while knocking down 20-of-24 from the line.

"We knew how good Xavier was coming in, and that we had to bring our 'A' game tonight." Baron said. "We brought our 'C' or 'D' game."

Will Daniels was 6-of-9 from the floor, en route to scoring 17 points. He also had seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Kahiem Seawright played an outstanding game, scoring 16 points (8-11 FG), while adding five boards and three assists. Darrell Harris added 10 points and four boards. The Rhody bench, which entered the game averaging 23.5 points per game, tallied just five points tonight.

"Kahiem played great around the basket. These are the kinds of games when you need to step up if you want to be a big-time player in this league." Baron stated.

The Rams return to action on Saturday, when they host Fordham at 2 p.m. at the Ryan Center. The game is the final regular season home contest and seniors Darrell Harris and manager Jeff Kim will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. The Senior Day festivities are set to begin about 1:45 p.m.

"This game is behind us and we need to get ourselves focused on Fordham on Saturday." Baron said. "The crowd tonight was great. We need our crowd to be loud and our fans to fill up the Ryan Center this weekend, especially to honor our seniors in their last regular season game."

Notes: Jimmy Baron, who entered the game ranked first nationally in 3FG percentage, was 2-for-5 from the perimeter, putting him at 51.2% for the season (86-168)...The 86 made three-pointers puts Baron just five trifectas behind Tyson Wheeler for the single-season record of 91...Darrell Harris, a native of Cleveland, has put up double-figures in both of his games in his home Buckeye State. The 6-10 senior tallied a career-best 15 points at Ohio on Dec. 27 and had 10 points tonight at Xavier...The loss extended URI's losing versus the Musketeers to 12 games...The Rams connected on all nine of their free throw attempts in the second half. Both Darrell Harris (6-6) and Jimmy Baron (5-5) were perfect from the line...The loss drops Rhody's record on the road to 5-7, including 4-3 in conference play.