Rams Take Care of Wildcats

KINGSTON – The University of Rhode Island men's basketball team held off Davidson University 71-58 Saturday afternoon at the Ryan Center.

The Rams relied on staunch second half defense to take down the Wildcats, allowing just 23 points in the second frame and holding leading scorer Brendan McKillop scoreless for the game.

"I think we really wore them down, it looked like their legs were a little bit tired," Baron said.  "They go 5-for-21 from threes, they're a much better shooting team than that."

Senior Delroy James scored six points as a part of an 11-0 run early in the second half to distance the Rams from the Wildcats.  His second bucket of the spurt, a 16-foot jumper just past the left elbow, made James the 50th member of the URI 1,000 point club.

"It was weird, because I missed a half a year of playing and then seeing Keith [Cothran] and Lamonte [Ulmer] do it last year, I was wondering if I would ever have the chance to do it," James said.  "To be here and have gone through all I have, it's pretty special."

James finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Akeem Richmond broke out of his recent shooting slump with 15 points, as well on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

"I got a ton of shots up before the game, probably four or five hundred, because as you all have noticed my shot hasn't been falling like I want it to," Richmond said. "I've got some great teammates, and they just kept coming to me and telling me to keep shooting."

Rhody then took care of business down the stretch, converting six-of-nine free throws in the final two minutes to keep the 'Cats at bay.

Senior Ben Eaves provided a huge lift off the bench, particularly key with senior Will Martell battling foul trouble and a sore ankle.  Eaves contributions came not necessarily in the box score, finishing with 11 points and four rebounds, but rather in his team's play with him on the court. 

"He gave us a great lift, I mean you could see him out there, he was rebounding, he was hustling, big blocked shots, he just played hard for us," James said.

URI outscored Davidson by 17 points in the 22 minutes that Eaves was on the court, while the Wildcats held a four points advantage in the 18 minutes Eaves was on the bench.

"We need Ben, just because of his physical prowess that he has he brings it to the backboard, he's very physical and very aggressive," Baron said. 

The Rams finally took care of business on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 37-33.  Rhody was particularly sharp on the glass in the second half, outrebounding Davidson 25-14 in the frame.

"It was two different halves of rebounding the basketball," Baron said.  "We ended up outrebounding them 37-33 and I thought that was pivotal."

After playing five games in eight days, the Rams will finally get a breather.  Rhody will have a week off before taking on in-state rival Providence College Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

"We have to go in to it as just another game," James said.  "It's going to be jumping because it's Providence-Rhode Island, but we're going to have to look at as they want to win it as much as we do."