What It Means:
Rhode Island's stifling defense held Santa Clara scoreless for close to 10 minutes to start the second half as the Rams' cruised to a 66-44 victory on Saturday in the second game of the Orlando Classic.
 
  As good as the Rams' D was, Rhody also put forth a great shooting effort on the offensive side of the floor.  URI connected on 53.2% (25-47) for the game, including close to 60% in the first half.

After holding a 35-27 lead at the break, Rhode Island broke it open with 14 unanswered points.  All 13 players saw action on the afternoon and 10 scored.

Inside the Box Score and Beyond:
* E.C. Matthews again led all scorers with 19 points.  His line was efficient - 7-for-9 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.  He also grabbed three boards and tallied an assist and a steal in 29 minutes.  

* Jared Terrell added 13 points, knocking down 2-of-5 attempts from 3-point land to go along with two rebounds, two assists and three steals.

* Biggie Minnis had his best game of the season, tallying seven points, a game-high five assists (two turnovers) and two rebounds in 24 minutes.

* Overall, eight different Rams tallied an assist, totaling 14 for the game.

* Frontcourt mates Hassan Martin (3-4), Earl Watson (2-3), and Gilvydas Biruta (4-4) combined to shoot 9-of-11 from the floor while grabbing 10 rebounds.  Biruta finished with eight points, Martin six, and Watson five.

* Rhody forced 13 Santa Clara turnovers and scored on all but one of them.  The Rams had 24 points off turnovers on the afternoon.

* The Rams doubled the Broncos up in the paint, 32-16, and used 13 offensive rebounds to score 14 second chance buckets.

* Santa Clara shot just 4-of-20 from the floor in the second frame (20.0%).

Stat of the Day:
8 - Rhode Island connected on a season-best eight 3-pointers.  E.C. Matthews made five. Jared Terrell made two, and Matthew Butler hit one.  

What's Next:
The Rams take on the winner of tonight's Georgia Tech/Rider game on Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

The Rhody Sports Network will also carry this - and every game - live on B101 (101.5 FM), with Steve McDonald and Don Kaull.  The pre-game show begins 30 minutes before tipoff.