Feb. 19, 2011

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KINGSTON, R.I. - Senior Delroy James scored team-high 15 points, but it was not enough as the Rhode Island men's basketball team (16-10; 7-5 Atlantic 10) dropped a 66-60 decision to Massachusetts Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center.

Senior guard Marquis Jones, senior center Will Martell and junior forward Orion Outerbridge also finished in double figures as they posted 10 points apiece. Outerbridge also pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds to record his first double-double on the year.

URI outrebound UMass 43-39 and committed just 13 turnovers compared to the Minutemen's 16, but the Rams struggled to connect from the floor as they shot just 29.3 percent, including a 5.3 percent clip from the beyond the arc (1-of-19).

Neither team led by more than four points in the opening 10 minutes as there were four ties. URI would go on to open up a six-point lead at the 2:07 mark of the first half as junior guard Jamal Wilson hit a layup, which capped a 5-1 push for the Rams

URI increased its lead to eight at the first half buzzer thanks to a layup by Martell, which gave the Rams their largest lead of the game. Rhody led at the half despite shooting just 26.5 percent from the floor. James scored a team-best eight points in the first half, while Jones chipped in with six.

The Rams forced the Minutemen into 10 turnovers and outrebounded UMass 25-19. URI also held UMass leading scorer Anthony Gurley to just two points in the opening 20 minutes.

Rhody led at the half for just the second time this season. URI's last halftime lead occurred on Jan. 26 when it held a one-point advantage over Saint Louis.

In the second half, UMass charged back with a 15-6 run to take a 38-37 lead at the 11:59 mark. The Minutemen would go on to open up an 11-point lead (56-45) with 4:42 remaining.

The Rams would not go away though as they fought back to cut the UMass lead to three (2:33) thanks to a 10-2 run. In the final two minutes, Rhody was outscored 7-4 as UMass secured the win.

The Minutemen outscored URI 43-29 in the second half.

Rhody returns to action on Wednesday as it heads to Duquesne. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.