Struggling Rams upended by Quinnipiac
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Just when everything seemed to be going its way, the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball went scoreless for nearly five minutes Saturday in the second half and failed to recover in a disappointing 73-66 loss to Quinnipiac in front of a packed house at the TD Bank Sports Center.
After erasing an eight-point deficit with a 7-0 run early in the second half, the Rams (6-4) lost their lead when the Bobcats answered with a 12-0 run of their own to take the lead for good at the 12:35 mark. Quinnipiac (7-2) held on with some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to ice its seventh win of the season and first win in school history against an A-10 school. The loss for Rhode Island was its second in three games. The Rams are now 2-3 on the road and officially off to their worst start since the 2006-07 season, which is the last time they failed to qualify for postseason play of any kind (including the N.I.T.).
Deontay Twyman and Justin Rutty scored 13 points apiece for the Bobcats, including five apiece during Quinnipiac’s game-changing run in the second half. The Rams got to within three points on four separate occasions, but never got any closer. They also went scoreless over the final two minutes while the Bobcats nailed four free throws in the closing seconds – two apiece by Twyman and James Johnson, who finished with 12 points.
Delroy James again led the Rams with 18 points, marking the eighth time in 10 games he’s led the team in scoring. Marquis Jones chipped in with 15 points while Nikola Malesevic and Will Martell added 10 apiece. Rhode Island committed 14 turnovers and shot just 29 percent from 3-point range.
The Rams won’t play again until Saturday when they host New Hampshire at the Ryan Center. They’ve got four non-conference games remaining, including a showdown at Florida on Jan. 3. They’re in desperate need of a strong finish before opening conference play against Xavier on Jan. 9. Quinnipiac – one of Bryant University’s rivals in the Northeast Conference – is 5-2 at home, but has only played three teams with RPIs in the top 100, including Rhode Island (48 entering Saturday).
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