UPDATE: Rams Handle RIC in Exhibition

11 p.m. -- Thanks to 15 points from Orion Outerbridge and Nikola Malesevic, and 14 from freshman Jonathan Holton, the University of Rhode Island men's basketball team started its season off with a 79-63 exhibition win against Division III Rhode Island College.

Although the final score suggests an easy Rams' win, it took URI about 30 minutes to pull away from RIC. The Anchormen shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range to stay in the game the first half, before the Rams clamped down with a more effective press in the second.

As expected, backcourt play could be a concern for URI early in the season, before transfers Andre Malone and Billy Baron become eligible.

The starting guards - senior Jamal Wilson and freshman Mike Powell - combined for seven turnovers and just five assists. The other swing forwards and guards on the roster - Dominique McKoy, Rayvon Harris and T.J. Buchanan - did no better, with nine turnovers and five assists. Buchanan played the best of the bunch, finishing with nine points, two steals and a block, against two turnovers and four missed jumpers.

Friday's exhibition and the one scheduled Monday could also mark the only Blake Vedder sightings of the year. The 7-foot-3 center played the last five minutes of the game, and only mustered two points and two rebounds. He was also beaten twice in the low post by a 6-foot-4 forward.

3:30 p.m. -- As part of Patch's regional sports coverage, we plan to provide regular coverage of University of Rhode Island men's basketball. And for as many games as possible, we'll be running a moderated chat room, with Narragansett Patch Local Editor Stephen Greenwell providing coverage from the floor of the Ryan Center.

Interested in the atmosphere at the Ryan Center? Want to know a rough estimate of the turnout? Feel free to ask in the Cover It Live chat widget below!

We'll be going live sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., depending on how long it takes to get media passes. Consider tonight's game a preview for the rest of the season, since it is the opening exhibition for the Rams.

Until then, you can queue up some questions - I'll be monitoring here and there until tip-off at 7 p.m.