Feb. 3, 2007

Box Score

BRONX, N.Y. -- Will Daniels' traditional three-point play with 27 seconds remaining in the ballgame helped lift Rhode Island to a 45-44 win at Fordham this afternoon.

The Rams (14-9, 7-2 A-10) trailed by three with just under three minutes to play after Fordham's Bryant Dunston converted the free throw after being fouled on a layup, giving the Rams (13-8, 6-3 A-10) a 44-41 advantage.

On Rhody's next possession, Daniels was fouled and converted 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to two points. After a defensive stop by Rhode Island, head coach Jim Baron called timeout and set up the eventual gamewinning play.

"Down the stretch, we hit some big shots. Jimmy (Baron) was able to hit some threes and for the final play, we were able to get it to Will and he converted it." said head coach Jim Baron.

"Confidence is part of the game." said Will Daniels, who was just 1-of-11 from the floor before converting his gamewinning and-one play. "I give credit to Coach Baron for drawing up a play and my teammates for getting me the ball. I saw a gap - an opening - and I just tried to finish strong."

URI trailed 27-23 at the half, despite shooting just 7-of-25 from the floor. Fordham had jumped out to a 6-0 lead, holding Rhody without a field goal until Kahiem Seawright converted a layup at the 16:47 mark.

That began a 12-4 run by Rhode Island, capped by a three by Daniels which gave the Rams their first lead of the game - at 12-10 - with 12:11 left. Fordham would rally back with nine unanswered points, en route to a 15-2 run, taking a 25-14 lead with 4:16 left in the frame.

But Rhody would respond, outscoring its Rams-sake, 9-2, capped by a Jimmy Baron jumper, to close out the half.

"I thought being down just four at the half , we were in good shape for the second 20 minutes." the head coach commented. "I told the team we needed to make plays - make better decisions, do a better job handling the ball, and step it up defensively."

In the second half, Rhody opened up with a 7-2 push, capped by back-to-back Baron threes, taking a 30-29 advantage with 15:50 to play. A Joe Mbang trey gave URI its largest lead of the game - at 35-31 - with 10:45 to go in regulation.

Fordham would rally back, answering with a 9-2 run, taking a 40-37 lead on a Kevin Anderson drive with 6:31 to play. Baron tied the ballgame at 41-41 with two from the charity stripe with 4:12 to go before the final plays of the game, leading the Rhody victory.

"Bryant Dunston (29 points) was terrific today. And we tried to key on their other shooters - (Marcus) Stout, (Brenton) Butler." Baron explained. "We forced some turnovers and played great team defense."

"We pride ourselves on defense. With the change in styles - going more uptempo this season - that's lacked at some points this season." said Jimmy Baron. "But in a game like today, we weren't scoring so we relied on our defense and stepped it up for the win."

Baron scored a team-high 12 points, while Kahiem Seawright added eight points and Joe Mbang six. Lamonte Ulmer grabbed five rebounds and blocked three Fordham shots.

For the game, URI shot just 28.0% (14-50) from the floor, including 5-of-12 from the perimeter (41.7%). They were 12-of-16 from the charity stripe (75.0%). Rhody was outrebounded, 41-33.

The Rams return to action on Thursday, when they travel to Amherst, Mass. to face Massachusetts at 8 p.m. at the Mullins Center.

Notes: The 45 points for Rhody was the lowest single-game total since tallying the same amount in a loss to Temple in the opening round of the A-10 Tournament on March 8...It was also the lowest shooting percentage by a URI team since connecting on just 25.5% of its shots vs. George Washington (Dec. 30, 2004)...Rhody's defense came up big this afternoon, holding Fordham to just 34.5% from the floor - the lowest field goal percentage defense mark of the 2006-07 season (34.5%)...In the second half, 15 of Fordham's 17 points came from junior Bryant Dunston.