What It Means:
Rhody captures its first true road game - and second road/neutral contest of the season - in a 75-66 victory at Brown. 

The Rams (8-6) led by 20 points - at 62-42 with 10:35 to play in regulation - before Brown connected on five of its 11 3-pointers down the stretch, getting as close as two points (67-65) with 4:04 to play.

The two teams traded baskets through the first 13 minutes of the first half.  A traditional three-point play by E.C. Matthews with 6:30 to play gave the Rams the lead for the rest of the game.  URI led 43-28 at the break.

Inside the Box Score and Beyond:
* The scoring load was carried by Matthews (21 points) and Xavier Munford (25).  They become the first Rhody tandem to reach the 20-point mark in the same game in exactly two years (Baron 24; Powell 21 at Boston College, Jan. 2, 2012).

* Both backcourt mates added five rebounds and two assists apiece in 38 minutes of play.  Matthews blocked two shots and notched three steals, while Munford registered a block and a steal.

* Hassan Martin earned his first collegiate start and registered career-bests in rebounding (9) and blocked shots (6), while playing a season-high 31 minutes.  He added six points, two assists and two steals to fill out his box score stat line.

* The 6-7 frosh from S.I.N.Y. (10305) has blocked 22 shots over his last five games - an average of 4.4 swats per game.

* Gilvydas Biruta tallied six points and six rebounds in 15 foul-plagued minutes.

* Each of the nine Rhody players who saw action scored.  The Rams received 15 points from their bench, led by T.J. Buchanan's six points and Matthew Butler's five.

* Rhode Island put forth its second-best free throw shooting performance of the season, connecting on 19-of-22 from the charity stripe - good for 86.4%.  URI had connected on 22-of-24 vs. McNeese State on Nov. 26 (91.4%).

* Biggie Minnis dished out four assists (zero turnovers) before fouling out for the third time in his college career.  It was Biggie's second game of the season with zero turnovers.

Quotable:
Head coach Dan Hurley:  "I'm very excited about the outcome, very excited about the performance. To pick up our eighth win, I'm real proud of them…I'm excited about every win we get this year because of where the program has been recently."

Senior guard Xavier Munford: "Coach Hurley gave us a lot of freedom to play our game and we were able to do it tonight.  It's a special feeling (to have eight wins) and shows a lot of growth in the program."

Freshman guard E.C. Matthews: "I've gotten better, experience-wise.  My mental game is much better.  The more games I get to play, the better I will get."

What's Next:
Rhode Island will watch the weather forecast closely before embarking on a quick turnaround trip to LSU.  Game time in Baton Rouge is set for 5:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. local).

The game can be seen locally on OSN (Cox ch. 5 / 1005 HD) and throughout the south on Cox Sports Television.

This - and every Rhody men's basketball game - can be heard live on the University of Rhode Island Radio Network, powered by Beltone Hearing Aid Centers.  Tune into NewsRadio 920 (920 AM) to hear Steve McDonald and Don Kaull provide the call.  Pre-game show begins at 5 p.m. ET.