Spring Break
URI men's basketball conquers Concordia in preseason game
Matt Swiss
Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: Sports
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URI excelled offensively but did not meet its expectations on the defensive side of the court.
"We've got to learn how to run, but we've got to contain them too," junior and forward Delroy James said. "They got 84 points and that's too many points for us to give up. We're not going to score 123 points every game so the defense has got to get better."
James led the way for Rhody, scoring 24, 14 of which came in the first half. He collected six boards, while rejecting one shot and getting in the passing lane for three steals. After URI won the opening tip, James set the tone for the game when he went baseline against a Concordia defender and dunked for the game's first two points.
Rhody's next trip down resulted in an easy lay-up by senior shooting guard Jimmy Baron. He had a few opportunities early but did not get hot until about the nine-minute mark, when he nailed his first three. Baron's three gave URI a 32-24 lead and he would add on to that moments later.
After Concordia's inbound pass was stolen, Baron took the ball hard to the hoop and got fouled in the act of shooting. The career 91 percent free-throw shooter knocked down both shots. Baron would go on to score 20 points while dishing out five assists.
"We had three guys with 20 plus points," Baron said. "I think you're going to see a good effort but again we need to improve on the defensive end a little more. I feel good about our team. We're out there and we love playing with each other and we love being around each other."
Also scoring 20 was junior guard Keith Cothran. After nailing a three early, Cothran stayed hot, scoring nine of his 20 points in the first 12:26. Cothran stayed quiet for the remainder of the first half, which was highlighted by a buzzer-beating three-point field goal by freshman guard Jamal Wilson.
Cothran expressed confidence and excitement in the younger players that will need to fill big roles this season after the graduations of Will Daniels, Parfait Bitee and Joe Mbang.
