James reaches milestone in Rams’ victory
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The 6-foot-8 senior finished with 15 points, including the 1,000th point of his career, as the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team closed its brief two-game home-stand with a 71-58 victory over Davidson at the Ryan Center.
James’ bucket at the 4:48 mark of the second half allowed Rhode Island to regain the lead it had lost and also made him the 50th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. In addition to his 15 points Saturday, James also finished with nine rebounds and two assists.
The Rams (5-2) have won back-to-back games since losing to Illinois-Chicago last weekend and will now take the next seven days off before playing at state rival Providence on Dec. 4.
James, a fifth-year senior, missed time early in his career to due to academic troubles off the court, but has since developed into Rhode Island’s most consistent scorer. He’s led the team in scoring in six of the first seven games this season, including a season-high 33 against Drexel on Wednesday. The last four players to reach 1,000 points were James’ former teammates – Jimmy Baron, Kahiem Seawright, Keith Cothran and Lamonte Ulmer.
The Rams needed every last one of James’ 15 points Saturday as Davidson fought tooth and nail until before Rhode Island pulled away late in the second half. The Wildcats (2-3) trailed by as many 12 points in the opening half, but actually took the lead at one point in the second before James’ milestone basket gave the Rams a 42-41 lead. Rhode Island’s lead grew to 12 points again with 10:45 remaining. Davidson never got closer than nine points down the stretch.
Akeem Richmond shot 5-of-8 from the floor and chipped in with 15 points for while Rhode Island while Ben Eaves scored 11 off the bench. The Rams have won 30 consecutive games against non-conference opponents at home.
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