What It Means:
Rhode Island battles #4/4 Ohio State tough for 40 minutes, but falls 69-58.  The Rams fall to 0-3 but showed signs of breaking out of their shooting slump to start the year.

Inside the Box Score and Beyond:
* Entering tonight's game, the Rams were just 7-for-41 from 3-point land on the season - just a 17.1% clip.  Tonight, URI outdid its season total, knocking down 8-of-17 from the perimeter.

* Andre Malone - who entered the game just 1-of-10 from 3-point land - looked to have shaken off the cold streak, knocking down 3-of-4 from the outside.  He finished with 11 points.

* Xavier Munford led Rhody in scoring with 16 points, one of four Rams in double figures.  Nikola Malesevic added 11 points and six rebounds in 26 foul-plagued minutes.

* Mike Powell played all 40 minutes, tallying 10 points and three boards.  More importantly, the point guard dished out a season-high six assists to just two turnovers.

* Jordan Hare blocked three Ohio State shots in 13 minutes of play.  He also connected on all four of his free throw attempts.  As a team, Rhody was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line on the evening.

* Rhody's defensive effort for all 40 minutes held Ohio State to just 43.6% shooting - their lowest FG% mark since the 2012 national semifinal game against Kansas (33.9%).

What's Next:
The Rams close out play at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic on Sunday, Nov. 19 when they face Seton Hall at 7 p.m.  The game can be seen live on ESPN3.  

Steve McDonald and Don Kaull return to bring you the call on the Beltone Hearing Aid Centers Rams Radio Network (B101 - 101.5 FM).  This - and all Rhody games on radio - can be heard on the internet or your smartphone device through iheart.com or the iHeartRadio app.