Dec. 13, 2008

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Postgame press conference - Cothran | Postgame press conference - James

KINGSTON, R.I. - Senior forward Kahiem Seawright scored a career-high 26 points, propelling the Rhode Island men's basketball team (8-3) to a 77-69 victory over Central Connecticut.

Seawright connected on 9-of-10 field goals and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He also finished with a team-high seven rebounds.

"Our team did a great job great job getting the ball to me today," Seawright said. "We go into every game with a lot of electricity, but we can't over look anybody."

Senior guard Jimmy Baron finished with 22 points, going 8-of-20 from the floor. Eighteen of Baron's 22 points came in the second half.

Junior forwards Lamonte Ulmer and Delroy James also reached double figures as both scored 10 points. Over the last four games, three or more URI players have reached 10 points or more.

With the win, URI improved to 5-0 at the Ryan Center this season.

"I knew it was going to be a dog fight going into this game," head coach Jim Baron said. "(Stevie) Mejia gave us excellent minutes off the bench and he was a major factor in today's win because he gives us another dimension of quickness."

Rhody took a 10-7 lead in the first four minutes of the game. Seawright scored seven points during that stretch. CCSU responded with a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to take a 16-13 lead with 13:05 to go in the first half.

CCSU (4-5) would go on to hold the lead for the remainder of the half taking a 38-33 lead into the locker room. This season, URI has only trailed three times heading into the locker room.

Seawright paced URI with 13 first-half points as he connected on 5-of-6 field goals. The URI senior also pulled down a team-best five rebounds. As a team, Rhody held a 17-13 advantage on the glass going into the break.

In the second half, CCSU opened up a six-point lead (42-36) with 15:55 remaining, but the Rams responded with a 10-0 run over the next 2:16 to take a 46-42 lead. During that stretch, Baron scored eight points, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers.

The Blue Devils fought right back with an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead at 50-46 with 11:13 remaining. Over the next six minutes, no team would lead by more than four points.

Rhody began to pull away in the final six minutes, limiting CCSU to just nine points while outscoring the Blue Devils, 17-9, to secure the win.

URI returns to action against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Dec. 20 as part of the O'Reilly All-College Basketball Classic in Oklahoma City. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN Classic.

Notes:
As a part of today's Toys For Tots drive, the University of Rhode Island and the United State Marines Corps received 550 toys as well as additional cash donations.