Dec. 3, 2008

Box Score

BOSTON -- Kahiem Seawright led all scorers with 19 points as Rhode Island used a strong second half to pull away from Northeastern, 85-72, at Matthews Arena tonight.

Seawright was 7-for-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe en route to tallying his season high. He also added seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal in 34 minutes of action.

The Rams (6-2) got off to a hot start offensively, knocking down 7-of-8 field goals to start the game. Rhody raced out to an 11-point lead just eight minutes into the contest, after a Keith Cothran jumped made it 24-13 with 12:02 to play in the half.

A 3-pointer by Ben Eaves gave URI a 15-point advantage (34-19) with 6:35 to go in the period. But Northeastern would find its offensive groove, closing out the half on a 23-5 run, capped by a traditional three-point play by Manny Adako, which gave the Huskies a 42-39 lead at the break.

Rhody made major adjustments on the defensive end in the second half, while maintaining their offensive firepower. The Rams began the final 20:00 of regulation on a 16-0 run, as the Huskies missed their first eight field goal attempts and committed three turnovers. Seawright tallied seven points during that key run.

Northeastern would get as close as 10 points - at 58-48 with 11:58 - but Lamonte Ulmer took the Runnin' Rams above the rim for six of the next 11 points, capped by an alley-oop lay-in from Jimmy Baron to go up 17 points (69-52) with 8:18 left in the contest.

Rhody shot a season-best 63.5% (33-52) from the floor, connecting on 5-of-10 from the outside. Cothran added 17 points, four boards, and a season-best six steals - one off the school's single-game swipes record. Baron added 13 points in 30 minutes of play.

Ulmer, (seven rebounds, two blocks), Delroy James (six rebounds), and Marquis Jones (five rebounds, three assists) each tallied nine points.

Rhody outrebounded NU, 39-23, and dished out 11 assists to a season-worst 21 turnovers. URI's defense held Northeastern to just 41.3% from the field.

Next up for URI is a Saturday afternoon matchup at Providence. Tipoff time is set for 2 p.m. The game can be seen live locally on Cox Sports Television (ch. 3) as well as on the internet at ESPN360.com.

Fans can also tune into the Rams Radio Network (WHJJ 920 AM; WJZS 99.3 FM), as Steve McDonald and Don Kaull will call all the action live, beginning with the pre-game show at 1:30 p.m.