Men's basketball triumphs over Charlotte before Temple defeat

02/10/10 - After a 71-64 comeback victory at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Thursday night, the University of Rhode Island men's Basketball team had its four game winning streak snapped at Temple 68-62.Jimmy Baron led the comeback for the Rams scoring all of his 19 points in the second half. He was 6-of-10 from the floor including a late lay-up to put Rhody in front by four with just 25 seconds to go in the game.

"I thought it was going to be a good game going in, they had beaten us twice last year," coach Baron said. "I really thought we did a good job defensively."

The Rams missed nine of their first 11 shots of the game and trailed most of the first half. Charlotte extended its largest lead of the game at 37-26 with 2:46 to go in opening half.

That's when the Rhody offense came alive and closed out the half on an 8-0 run to cut the 49er lead to just three trailing 37-34.

The Rams continued to cut the Charlotte lead down in the second half and took 45-43 just four minutes in. Charlotte tied the game at 45, but Jimmy Baron knocked down consecutive threes to put URI in front by six. The 49ers responded with two three-pointers of their own to tie the game 51 with 12:03 remaining.

The game remained tight as Baron converted a lay-up to put Rhody up 64-62 with 2:26 left. Charlotte tied the game up for the final time at 64, but the Rams were able to pull away after Baron hit a clutch shot with 25 seconds left to put the Rams up 68-64. The Rams hit their free throws to seal the 71-64 victory.

Sunday afternoon the Rams lost their fourth Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season at Temple. URI shot 47.2 percent from the floor including 8-of-16 from deep in the losing effort.

Baron was 5-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc scoring 13 points. Kahiem Seawright scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

"We turned it over 15 times and they're not even a pressing team," coach Baron said. "We gave them more of an opportunity to score.

Keith Cothran returned to the Rhody lineup after missing the last five games due to an injury. He led all Rams scorers with 16 points off the bench all in the second half

"You need to be healthy down the stretch," coach Baron said. "You need everybody."

The Rams opened the game on a 6-0 run, but Temple quickly erased that with a 17-2 run opening an early 17-8 lead. The Owls went up 32-20, but the Rams were able to cut the lead down to seven at halftime trailing 32-25

Temple kept the pressure on, opening the second half on a 14-3 run to open up their largest lead of the game at 46-28. Rhody was able to get back in the game with an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 50-39 with 11:43 to go.

Cothran was able to bring Rhody within seven points after connecting on a three-pointer with less than four minutes to play. The Temple lead was down to five after Ulmer hit a three making it 66-61 with 1:36 to go in regulation.

Temple senior Dionte Christmas put away the Rams after converting two free throws as the Owls took the second meeting of the year between the two teams 68-62.

The Rams (16-8 overall, 5-4 in the A-10) will host St. Bonaventure University tomorrow night at the Ryan Center.

"They're a good team, much improved," said coach Baron. They are very athletic, with good size, good guards, and a good bench."

Tip-off time is set for 7 p.m. Coach Baron is looking for fans to come out and support the team.

"We need the fans, they are a big part of this," he said. "We need them to rock the Ryan Center. We don't have many [games] left and it's a great opportunity for them to be a part of this.