Photos By Tod Fierner (Saint Mary's College)

What It Means:
Rhody dropped its first game in almost three weeks, falling tonight at Saint Mary's, 82-59.  The Rams came out hot offensively, connecting on 5-of-6 from the perimeter to take an eight-point lead - 21-13 - with 9:47 left in the half.  SMC would close on a 22-5 push, taking a 35-26 lead at the break.

The Rams got as close as four points early in the second half, but the Gaels pulled away, thanks to their 62.5% shooting from the field in the final 20:00.

Inside the Box Score and Beyond:
* Xavier Munford led all scorers with 20 points.  X connected on 7-of-16 from the floor (3-6 3FG) and added two assists and two steals in 38 minutes.

* Mike Powell and Andre Malone each added 12 points - rounding out the Rams in double figures.

* Jordan Hare had eight points - including two thunderous dunks - upping his season total of 16 slams.

* Saint Mary's held a 23-8 advantage in free throws attempted, as the foul count was 19-9 Rhode Island until late in the game.

* While going to the line just eight times, the Rams made six of their attempts - good for 75.0%.  It marks the fourth straight game in which Rhody shot better than 70.0% from the charity stripe.

* Rhode Island grabbed just 17 rebounds as a team - the lowest team rebounding mark in more than 17 years.

* Rhody totaled nine turnovers in the game - committing just two in the first half.  It marks the third time the Rams logged single-digits in the turnover column this season.

* The 82 points allowed was the most allowed by the Rams' defense this season and the 52.7% field goal defense mark was the highest since Jan. 7, 2012 vs. Richmond (52.8%).

What's Next:
The Rams return to action in the 2013 calendar year, when they host Brown in the 154th meeting between the two schools.  Tickets can be purchased by visiting ExperienceRhody.com or the Ryan Center Box Office.  For more information, call (401) 874-RAMS.

The game can be seen live on OSN (Cox ch. 5/1005 HD) and coxsportsonline.com, with Mike Mancuso and Chris DiSano calling all the action beginning at 7 p.m.  

Steve McDonald and Don Kaull return to bring you the radio 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.