Feb. 18, 2008
Box Score
KINGSTON, R.I. -- Parfait Bitee scored a career-high 25 points, while Will Daniels added 23 as Rhode Island dropped its first home game of the season, 81-77 to #10/12 Xavier.
Bitee connected on his first six shots from the floor, en route to shooting 7-for-13 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the foul line for the game. He was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, while also dishing out seven assists. Daniels 9-of-13 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from the perimeter.
The Rams (20-6, 6-5 A-10) opened the second-half on a 26-14 run - including 13 unanswered points - after trailing by 10 at halftime. The Musketeers (22-4, 10-1 A-10) fell behind by three at one point in the second half, before taking the lead for good with 5:48 left to play. A three from Daniels with four seconds left put Rhode Island within three - at 80-77, but Xavier converted one of two free throws with 1.7 seconds on the clock to put the game out of reach.
In the first half, Xavier raced out to a nine-point lead just six minutes in, at 20-11. But Rhody used a 14-5 push over the next five and a half minutes to tie the score at 25-25 with just under nine minutes to play. The Musketeers used a 19-9 run to take a 44-34 lead into halftime after being up by as many as 14 at the 3:42 mark.
Kahiem Seawright pulled down 10 rebounds for the Rams - his fourth consecutive game with double-figures in the rebounding column. He also added nine points, while Keith Cothran and Lamonte Ulmer each tallied seven points off the bench.
It was Rhode Island's 12th straight loss to a nationally ranked opponent. URI last defeated a ranked opponent on Dec. 2, 1998, when the Rams beat then-No. 25 Utah 70-63. Rhode Island defeated Xavier the last time the teams played, a 79-71 win in the seminfinals of last season's A-10 conference championship.
Next up for URI is a nationally televised matchup with Massachusetts on Thursday night at the Ryan Center. The Rams and Minutemen will face off on ESPN2, beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Jon Sciambi and Hubert Davis have the call.
