Jan. 24, 2007

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KINGSTON, R.I. -- When the University of Rhode Island student body headed home for its Winter break, the Rams had not yet started Atlantic 10 play.

When classes resumed this week, a Ryan Center record 2,657 students walked through the turnstile to see the first place Rams (13-8, 6-1 A-10) beat Massachusetts, 75-72, and improve their win streak to four games.

"I'm a huge college basketball fan and this was a great atmosphere tonight." Kahiem Seawright said. "I really want to thank our fans for coming out. The students gave us so much energy tonight, I hope they continue to keep coming out."

What the 7,021 folks in the stands of the Ryan Center saw was a gritty come-from-behind win for Rhody, which improved to 9-2 at home this season. But it started out slow for URI.

UMass put the first six points on the board and held the Rams to just four points through the first 9:55 of action. The Minutemen led by as many as nine (16-7, 9:08) before a Rhody push over the next 3:12 to cut it to just three, at 21-18. After going back up by eight (28-20) on a Rashaun Freeman jumper with 2:31 to go, URI tallied the final four points of the half and went into the locker room down by four - 28-24.

"Tonight we started off slow, I was frustrated and a couple of our guys were out of synch." Will Daniels said. "But in the locker room, we talked about it and got it together and made our run in the second half."

Daniels ended with a game-high 20 points. He was 5-of-9 from the floor and 9-13 from the charity stripe, to go along with six rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes of action.

"Our kids are understanding it now." head coach Jim Baron said. "They take it one game at a time. They understand how tough it is to win in this conference. They know they have to match a team like UMass with physical and aggressive play."

In the second half, UMass' Gary Forbes hit a layup with 18:14 left in regulation, which gave the Minutemen a seven-point lead, at 36-29. But Rhody would respond with an 8-2 run over the next 2:50, capped by a Daniels jumper, to cut it to one - at 38-37, with 15:24 left.

Parfait Bitee drained a trey with just under 12:00 minutes remaining to tie the ballgame up at 45-45. But it wasn't until Jimmy Baron was fouled while attempting a three-pointer in the far corner that URI took its first lead.

The sophomore guard drained all three free throws and Rhody led, 51-49, with 7:08 to play. The two teams traded baskets for much of the next three minutes, before a Seawright free throw put the Rams up for good with 4:12 to go. Rhody shot a perfect 14-of-14 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.

"This is how I expect it to be the rest of the season." said Keith Cothran, who ended with 14 points, including going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. "We're coming on strong and there's going to be a lot of intense games."

The Rams outrebounded the Minutemen, 37-32, and connected on 33-of-43 from the free throw line - good for 76.7%. Joe Mbang added nine points off the bench, which outscored the Minutemen reserves, 25-14.

"Our bench was terrific tonight. When Darrell (Harris) went down, we had Lamonte Ulmer, Joe Mbang and Jonathan Cruz really step up for us tonight." Baron said.

Seawright added eight points and seven rebounds, while Bitee had a solid all-around night with seven points, six rebounds, and five assists.

"I thought Kahiem did a great job for us tonight." Baron said. "He took it to the bucket, made some big-time plays, and did a tremendous job. And he's just a sophomore."

"I feel like we can win games in different ways." Seawright added. "We have a one step at a time mentality, and now we need to focus on GW on Saturday."

Daniels agreed. "It's going to be a very big game on Saturday. We know it's big, I'm sure George Washington knows it's big. We know how good they are."

Notes: The Rams have begun the A-10 slate 6-1 for the first time since the 1997-98 season...Four just the fourth time this season - and first in A-10 play - UMass was outrebounded. Rhody won the battle of the boards, 37-32...Just six of URI's 16 turnovers came in the second half...The 51 second half points was the third-highest total for the second 20:00 of action this season...The 43 free throw attempts was the second highest mark (44 vs. Centenary)...Jimmy Baron extended his streak of hitting at least one three-pointer to 30 games...Will Daniels had his seventh 20 point game for the Rams - 16 of which came in the second half...Darrell Harris suffered a high ankle sprain and will be evaluated further tomorrow.

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