URI won it, 90-83.
La Salle was matching Rhode Island shot for shot in the first half. There was just one problem: Actually, there were 14 of them. The Explorers committed 14 turnovers before the Rams committed any. That has to be some kind of record.
"As much as you try to prepare, we can't simulate Rhode Island's press,'' La Salle coach John Giannini said.
They simply don't have enough bodies for that, not when they are playing four-on-fourin practice.
URI (18-3, 6-2 Atlantic 10) was alternately getting steals, bombing in threes and running the ball to the rim where, more often than not, the play was finished with a dunk.
And no matter how well you are shooting, you can't win when you don't get shots up. By halftime, La Salle was shooting 55.2 percent overall, 75 percent from the arc, trailing by a dozen and had given up half a hundred plus three. How is that possible? Turnovers, way too many turnovers, and in the wrong part of the court, leading to easy hoops for a team that already was playing with a lot of confidence.
Nobody was defending with Alamo-like passion. There were lots of blocks (15) and way more uncontested shots.
After losing the 3,000 points that Jimmy Baron and Kahiem Seawright gave them, the Rams really figured to go backward. Instead, they are in play for an NCAA berth and having one of their best seasons in years.
"I had a lot of question marks coming into this year,'' Rams coach Jim Baron said. "That's why they picked us eighth. We didn't know where we were going to get our scoring, where we were going to get our shooting.''
The Rams are 11-2 in games decided in single digits and 8-2 on the road. Start winning a few close ones and you start to believe. URI's players believe.
