2008 Woodie Awards
Rams fall to Temple Owls, look ahead to 'Pink Out' showdown against Xavier
Evan Crawley
Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: Sports
02/15/08 - The road has not been kind to the University of Rhode Island men's basketball team this season, and on Wednesday night ,the city of brotherly love was no different.
The Rams suffered their sixth loss of the season, all of which have come on the road, 82-79 in overtime to Temple University.
"They're a good team, and we knew coming in that it was going to be a challenge on the road," Rams head coach Jim Baron said.
The Rams got an opportunity to tie the game in the closing seconds, but a Jimmy Baron fade-away triple ended up off the mark.
The Owls jumped all over Rhody early, leading by as many as seven points early in the overtime before seniors Will Daniels and Parfait Bitee cut into the lead.
Daniels and Bitee alternated three-pointers on consecutive possessions with just under three minutes to go, then Daniels tied the score at 86 with a lay-up at the 1:23 mark.
The Owls responded with four straight points before Bitee drained a three-pointer with seven seconds to go to put Baron in position to tie the game after a pair of free throws from Owls' junior Dionte Christmas.
Daniels finished with a team-high 26 points for the Rams, while Bitee added 17. Sophomores Keith Cothran and Lamonte Ulmer added 14 and 10 points respectively, while junior Kahiem Seawright chipped in with 14 rebounds.
For the second time in as many games, Baron struggled to find the touch, finishing with just seven points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field, 2-for-8 from three. It is just the second game all season he has not cracked double digits in a game, the last time coming Nov. 14 at Brown University.
Thankfully for the Rams, they will have four days to prepare for its next game, a showdown with No. 12/13 Xavier University (21-4 overall, 9-1 A-10) Monday at 7 p.m. at the Ryan Center.
"It's a tremendous opportunity for us to be playing against a top 15 team that has been very successful this season," coach Baron said.
The Musketeers bring a lot of experience and depth to the table by starting three seniors, and have six players averaging in double figures on the season.
They can run the fast break as well as anyone in the league, but also have the capabilities to execute in the half court.
"We have to continue to be aggressive and attack the bucket, we just can't have the inconsistencies we had Wednesday, especially in the transition defense," coach Baron said.
The next game will also be marked by the second annual "Pink Out" to help generate breast cancer awareness and raise money for the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation.
Students are encouraged to wear pink clothing to the game, or purchase a t-shirt for $5 to help fund research. Last season in the Rams' sell-out win over the University of Massachusetts, over $10,000 was raised for breast cancer research.
The Rams suffered their sixth loss of the season, all of which have come on the road, 82-79 in overtime to Temple University.
"They're a good team, and we knew coming in that it was going to be a challenge on the road," Rams head coach Jim Baron said.
The Rams got an opportunity to tie the game in the closing seconds, but a Jimmy Baron fade-away triple ended up off the mark.
The Owls jumped all over Rhody early, leading by as many as seven points early in the overtime before seniors Will Daniels and Parfait Bitee cut into the lead.
Daniels and Bitee alternated three-pointers on consecutive possessions with just under three minutes to go, then Daniels tied the score at 86 with a lay-up at the 1:23 mark.
The Owls responded with four straight points before Bitee drained a three-pointer with seven seconds to go to put Baron in position to tie the game after a pair of free throws from Owls' junior Dionte Christmas.
Daniels finished with a team-high 26 points for the Rams, while Bitee added 17. Sophomores Keith Cothran and Lamonte Ulmer added 14 and 10 points respectively, while junior Kahiem Seawright chipped in with 14 rebounds.
For the second time in as many games, Baron struggled to find the touch, finishing with just seven points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field, 2-for-8 from three. It is just the second game all season he has not cracked double digits in a game, the last time coming Nov. 14 at Brown University.
Thankfully for the Rams, they will have four days to prepare for its next game, a showdown with No. 12/13 Xavier University (21-4 overall, 9-1 A-10) Monday at 7 p.m. at the Ryan Center.
"It's a tremendous opportunity for us to be playing against a top 15 team that has been very successful this season," coach Baron said.
The Musketeers bring a lot of experience and depth to the table by starting three seniors, and have six players averaging in double figures on the season.
They can run the fast break as well as anyone in the league, but also have the capabilities to execute in the half court.
"We have to continue to be aggressive and attack the bucket, we just can't have the inconsistencies we had Wednesday, especially in the transition defense," coach Baron said.
The next game will also be marked by the second annual "Pink Out" to help generate breast cancer awareness and raise money for the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation.
Students are encouraged to wear pink clothing to the game, or purchase a t-shirt for $5 to help fund research. Last season in the Rams' sell-out win over the University of Massachusetts, over $10,000 was raised for breast cancer research.