Flames snap Rhode Island’s 3-game win streak

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Monday, November 22, 2010

GoLocalProv Sports Team

For the second consecutive game, the Rams looked sluggish in the second half. This time, it cost them a victory.

Playing its third game in as many days, the Rhode Island men’s basketball team fell apart down the stretch against Illinois-Chicago and dropped the finale of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, 74-68, at the Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

The Rams (3-2) led by four points at the break and by as many as seven points in the second half before the Flames (3-2) went on a 24-9 run in which they shot 71 percent from the floor and broke the game open. Rhode Island actually tied the game with 5:15 remaining on a 3-pointer by Daniel West, but Illinois-Chicago pulled away down the stretch to snap the Rams’ three-game win streak.

The Flames outscored Rhode Island, 52-42, in the second half, similar to Saturday when the Rams were outscored, 40-35, in a win over Toledo. Senior guard Marquis Jones scored a career-high 21 points and Delroy James chipped in with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Rhode Island got beat on the boards, 41-30, for the first time all weekend and wasted a golden opportunity to break the game open in the first half. The Flames shot just 29 percent in the opening half, but still trailed by only four points at the break. As has been the case all year, the Rams took their fair share of chances from beyond the 3-point arc, but shot just 7-of-20 from long distance.

The Rams didn’t get as much from their bench Sunday as they did in their first two games of this weekend’s subregional in which they beat Charleston and Toledo. Nikola Malesevic had a quiet game with just six points on 2-of-5 shooting while Ben Eaves failed to hit a shot in 12 minutes off the bench.

Guard Robo Kreps and forward Paul Carter did most of the damage for the Flames; Kreps scored a game-high 27 points and Carter added 24. The two combined for 51 of Illinois-Chicago’s 74 points.

Rhode Island failed to match last year’s 4-1 start, but will look to get back on the winning track Wednesday when it returns home to face Drexel (2-0) at the Ryan Center.