Another ugly loss for Rams
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team blew a double-digit lead in the second half Saturday and lost a shocker to La Salle, 76-75, at the Ryan Center, snapping the Rams’ three-game winning streak in the Atlantic 10.
The Rams (12-7, 3-2 A-10) led by as many as 11 points with 10:26 remaining, but the Explorers fought back and took the lead for good on Aaric Murray’s three-point play with 28 seconds to go.
Rhode Island pulled to within a point on a pair of free throws by Marquis Jones and got the ball back seconds later when Murray coughed it up, but Jones missed a 3-pointer and Delroy James missed the put-back attempt as time expired.
Saturday’s win was La Salle’s first of the season in A-10 play. The Explorers are now 9-11 overall. Murray led the team with 20 points, followed by Earl Pettis with 14.
Only Jones (15 points) and Will Martell (13) shot well for Rhode Island, which hit just 27 percent of its shots in the opening half and fell behind by as many as 12 before closing the gap with an 8-0 run before the break.
James shot 3-of-10 from the field and scored 11 points. Nikola Malesevic went 5-of-15 and Akeem Richmond shot 3-of-13.
Rhode Island will return to action Wednesday at St. Louis at 9 p.m. The Billikens are 7-11 overall and 2-3 in A-10 play.
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