Nov. 24, 2010

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KINGSTON, R.I. - Senior Delroy James logged the second 30-point game of his career as he finished with a game and season-high 33 points to lead the Rhode Island men's basketball team (4-2) to a 74-68 victory over Drexel Wednesday night at the Ryan Center.

With the win, Rhody collected its 29th-consecutive victory over a non-conference opponent at the Ryan Center.

Fellow seniors Marquis Jones and Will Martell also finished in double figures as they finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Rhody struggled offensively in the early going as it did not score a basket until the 17:37 mark of the first half. The Rams got on track thanks to the hot shooting of James and Martell as they combined to score 17 of URI's first 21 points.

During the first 20 minutes no team lead by more than five points. Rhody trailed 31-27 with 4:24 remaining until the break, but the Rams responded with a 9-2 run to close out the first half and take a 36-33 lead into the locker room.

James led all first half scorers as he had 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Martell also added eight points as he connected on 4-of-5 from the field. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc as they combined for just 3-of-15 from 3-point range.

No team lead by more than three points in the first five minutes of the second half. Drexel cut URI's lead to one on four separate occasions, but could never take the lead.

With just under 15 minutes to go in the game, Rhody began to make its move as it went on an 11-2 push to take a 53-43 lead with under 10 minutes to go in the game. James led the way as he scored nine of the Rams' 11 points during the stretch.

Rhody went on to take its largest lead at the 6:41 mark as sophomore Akeem Richmond drilled a 3-pointer to give the Rams a 62-49 lead.

Drexel cut URI's lead to five with just under a minute to play, but the Dragons would get no closer as Rhody went on to secure its third win all-time over Drexel.

URI returns to action on Saturday as it welcome Davidson to the Ryan Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.