Gamenotes: Rhode Island/Dayton (.pdf)
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BY MATT SWISS
GoRhody.com Senior Staff Writer
Fresh off a disappointing home loss to St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island heads to Dayton tomorrow night with one goal in mind. The Rams must figure out how to put together two complete halves.
Many times this year, the Rams have come out and looked sharp in the game's opening 20 minutes, only to fall short by the game's final buzzer. Wednesday's loss to the Bonnies was unfortunately no different and, all things considered, perhaps the most disappointing outcome for Rhody all year.
"We're drained because we put a lot of effort into that game and we thought we were going to come out on top," sophomore Billy Baron said. "But the ball bounced their way and they got the win."
In the first half, the effort level Baron alluded to was certainly there. The energy was there as well, and the Rams played arguably the best 20-minute stretch of basketball they've played all season. Rhody came out hitting on all cylinders offensively, breaking St. Bonaventure's press with relative ease en route to shooting close to 54.0% from the floor.
"We're always capable of that to tell you the truth," Baron said of the Rams' first half play. "When we play together, honestly, we can play even better than that. We're so close to breaking things open and taking that next step."
What continues to prevent Rhode Island from breaking things open and taking that next step unfortunately seems to be themselves. The team's struggles during the 4-8 minutes of the second half make leads turn to deficits and deficits into bigger ones. It began back in November, when the Rams let a double-digit second half lead slip away against Boston University and has crippled URI on countless different occasions since.
Against the Bonnies, Rhody once again went cold to begin the second half and saw a 40-30 halftime lead turn into 45-42 deficit with 12:13 left to play, en route to the team's sixth straight loss and 18th overall.
"I wish I could tell you the problem," senior captain Orion Outerbridge said. "That was the last thing we said before we came out of the locker room was that we needed to come out in the first four to five minutes and play with twice as much energy as we played with in the first half. I don't know if we just felt comfortable with a 10-point lead or what but we didn't get the job done."
Things don't get any easier for Rhode Island on Saturday night at UD Arena - arguably the toughest arena in the A-10. The 14-6 Flyers, under new head coach Archie Miller, have won 10 of their 12 home games this season
"We've got to keep our heads up because we've got even tougher competition ahead of us," Baron said. "We've got to keep working. This is what builds character. When you lose games like this, you need to become stronger mentally and physically so we've just got to keep working."
Outerbridge agreed. "If we concentrate and settle down, we'll make those plays in the end. We're inching up every game. I wish we could take footsteps but inches are better than nothing."
Matt Swiss is a senior journalism major at the University of Rhode Island. Follow him on Twitter @mswissbeats
