Feb. 14, 2007

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KINGSTON, R.I. -- Will Daniels scored 19 points, leading four Rams in double figures as Rhode Island topped Saint Louis, 83-67, at the Ryan Center tonight. Daniels was 8-of-14 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from the outside, while also tallying five rebounds and four assists.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak versus the Billikens, dating back to last season. Earlier this year, at Saavis Arena on Jan. 10, SLU downed URI, 62-58.

"We played with a lot of energy and focus tonight. We lost by four down there before and were 0-3 against them, so we came at it with a different mindset." said Kahiem Seawright, who had a solid all-around performance, with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

A URI (16-10, 9-3 A-10) 6-0 run, capped by a Keith Cothran jumper with 14:26 left in the first half, put the Rams ahead for good, at 11-5. Darrell Harris, playing in his first game since injuring his ankle on Jan. 24 at home against Massachusetts, connected from the deep corner on a three-pointer and a fallaway jumper on consecutive possessions, giving Rhody a nine-point edge (18-9) with 10:40 left.

Saint Louis responded with an 11-5 run, cutting the Rhody lead to just two points (23-21) with 7:10 remaining. But the Rams would respond with the knockout blow, scoring 15 unanswered points over the next 3:39, en route to closing the frame on a 19-2 run and taking a 41-23 lead at the break.

In the second half, Rhody extended its lead to as many as 22 points, as Joe Mbang's three with 13:51 left in regulation gave the Rams a 51-29 advantage. Rhode Island connected on 16-of-30 shots in the second half, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, en route to the victory.

"We're playing well now. Often times the coaching staff steps up and gives us credit, but I really think that they deserve a lot of credit for preparing us with gameplans for two very different opponents and styles of play." Will Daniels said.

"Our coaching staff, the assistant coaches did a great job scouting and getting our players ready for two tough games." head coach Jim Baron said. "We knew that if we were able to limit Saint Louis' looks from the perimeter, it would really help us."

"We did a good job on defense tonight, turning them over 16 times, but I also thought that we shared the ball well." Baron added. "To have back-to-back games with 30 and 25 assists, making the extra pass was very important for us."

Jimmy Baron scored 17 points, connecting on 5-of-6 from the perimeter, while also adding five assists and two steals. Joe Mbang added 12 points.

For the game, Rhody shot 53.3% from the floor (32-60), including 11-of-22 from three-point land (50.0%). They dished out 25 assists while committing just nine turnovers. Both teams pulled down 27 boards.

With the win, Rhode Island sits alone atop the Atlantic 10 standings, at 9-3.

"Our mindset this time of year is not to die out." Daniels explained. "This time of year, guys can get tired or pick up a lazy mentality. As a junior and one of the leaders of the team, I can't allow that to happen. We know where we are in the standings, but we also know that there is a long way to go and we have a lot more to prove. We know we have to move on and focus on a very tough Charlotte team this weekend."

The Rams host Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m. The first 1,000 students will receive a limited edition white Rhode Island Basketball t-shirt, sponsored by the Fast Break Club, Cox Sports Television and Casey's Grill & Bar.

The game will be televised live on Cox Sports Television (ch. 3), with Don Coyne and Abu Bakr calling the action. Additionally, this and every Rams game will be broadcast live on WHJJ 920 am and 99.3 The Bridge FM. The audio feed will also be live on the internet via Yahoo! Sports. Steve McDonald and URI Hall of Famer Don Kaull will call all the action for the Rhode Island.

Notes: The Rams improve to 11-1 overall when shooting 50.0% or better this season...Jimmy Baron had his sixth game with five or more three-pointers. He now has 80 treys on the season, good for the third-best single-season mark in Rhody history...Will Daniels is 18-for-29 from the floor, while totalling 44 points in the two games...One game after dishing out 30 assists (3rd best single-game mark in URI history) at Duquesne, the Rams put forth 25 assists against SLU - the sixth-best single-game assist performance...Darrell Harris tallied seven points in 10 minutes, connecting on all three of his field goal attempts...Jamael Lynch connected on his first three-point field goal late in the contest...The Rams' defense held Saint Louis to just 23 points in the first half - the second-lowest scoring defensive mark of the season...The Rams are 9-3 in the Atlantic 10 for the first time since the 1997-98 season...The win also improved URI to 10-3 at home so far this season. It marks the fourth time in five seasons that the Rams have tallied 10 or more wins at the Ryan Center...The win was head coach Jim Baron's 290th all-time as a head coach.

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