Dec. 5, 2009

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

SWISS BEATS: Youth is Served in Victory over Providence

KINGSTON, R.I. - The Rhode Island men's basketball team outscored Providence 51-33 in the second half as it captured an 86-82 victory over the Friars Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center.

Five Rhode Island players scored in double-figures led by senior guard Keith Cothran's 19 points. Cothran was a perfect 7-of-7 from the line and connected on 2-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Fellow senior Lamonte Ulmer, junior Delroy James, freshman Akeem Richmond and sophomore Orion Outerbridge finished with 13, 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively. This season, Rhody has had five players score in double figures in three games.

"We knew it was going to be a battle right down to the end," said head coach Jim Baron. "I couldn't be more proud of the effort our guys put forth to come out with the win."

Providence shot 57 percent from the field in the first half, but were held to 36.7 percent in second half. Rhody was outshot 47.6-40.0 percent in the game, but forced the Friars into 19 turnovers, while Rhody had just nine miscues. PC's 19 turnovers tied a season-high.

Rhody's defense forced three Providence turnovers in its five possessions. Cothran connected on a 3-point play at the 17:56 mark, which gave the Rams a 7-2 lead.

PC responded by going on a 7-0 run of its own over the next 1:15 to give PC 9-7 lead with 16:30 to go in the first half.

The Friars would then take a 16-14 lead with 11:16 remaining and would not trail for the remainder of the opening frame as it took a 49-35 lead into the locker room.

Rhody began the second half with a 16-5 run to cut the PC lead to three with 14:54 to go in the game.

URI tied the game at 69 apiece with 5:45 remaining in the game thanks to a 3-point play by Outerbridge, which drew a roar from the sellout crowd of 7,675 fans.

"We really fed off the energy from the fans," Outerbridge said. "It was really rocking in there throughout the game."

On the Rams' next offensive possession, URI took the lead for the first time since the first half as Richmond connected on a 3-pointer, which gave Rhody a 72-70 lead with 5:01 to go in the game.

In the final five minutes, Rhody outscored PC 14-12. Cothran scored six points in the closing stretch as he connected on six free throws.

Rhody returns to action on Tuesday as it welcomes Quinnipiac for a 7 p.m. tipoff.