November 8, 2010 | AP Press

PITTSBURGH — All summer, his fellow coaches asked Pitt’s Jamie Dixon why he agreed to play an opponent like Rhode Island in the season opener. For most of Monday night’s game, Dixon was asking himself the same question.

Brad Wanamaker scored 24 points, Ashton Gibbs had 22 and Pittsburgh (No. 4 ESPN/USA Today, No. 5 AP) survived an upset scare in the nation’s first Division I game of the season, rallying from eight points down to beat the Rams 83-75.

Pitt ended a sluggish first half in the 2K Sports Classic opener by scoring nine consecutive points over the final 1:21 after Rhode Island went ahead 36-28. The Panthers then wore down Rhode Island with their size, defense and the experienced play of the backcourt of Gibbs and Wanamaker to offset the Rams’ 14 3-pointers.

Delroy James scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half for Rhode Island, which trailed 76-74 with 1:41 to play before Pitt finished it off by making seven of eight free throws.

“There’s a reason why teams don’t want to play them, especially on Nov. 8,” Dixon said. “You don’t want your first game to be against a team that presses and shoots 3s. They made some tough 3s and kept the game close, but we made free throws and got baskets when we needed to get them.”

Pitt won its 14th consecutive season opener, eight under Dixon, and its 48th straight at home against a non-conference opponent. Gilbert Brown added 10 points and redshirt freshman Talib Zanna, starting for the injured Nasir Robinson, had nine points and 11 rebounds in his first college game.

Akeem Richmond scored 16 points and Nikola Malesevic had 13 for Rhode Island, which lost despite making 14 of 31 from 3-point range to Pitt’s 3 of 16. The Rams, outrebounded 45-32, lost their 23rd straight to a ranked opponent and still haven’t beaten a Top 5 team in 12 years.

Pitt knew Rhode Island wouldn’t be the usual rollover opponent that many ranked teams play in their opener, and the Rams — 26-10 last season while reaching the NIT semifinals — weren’t as their uptempo style and pressure defense kept it close.

“This felt like a tournament game,” Wanamaker said. “It was intense, and usually you don’t play a team this good in the first game. But I think it will help us.”

The Rams’ biggest lead came on Will Martell’s basket 90 seconds before halftime but, right about then, Pitt began showing why it hasn’t won fewer than 25 games each of the last five seasons.

“We wanted to take it right at them but, sometimes, that comes with the territory,” Rhode Island coach Jim Baron said of the momentum-shifting run.

Gibbs converted a three-point play ahead of Wanamaker’s layup. Lamar Patterson’s first career basket, a dunk off Wanamaker’s feed, gave the Panthers a 37-36 halftime lead, their first since they led 13-11.

“We started making layups,” Dixon said. “We charted that we missed nine layups in the first half. From that point on, we made them.”

Still, Pitt — with four returning starters from its surprising 25-9 team of last season — never led by as many as three points until Gibbs’ steal and drive with 15:08 remaining made it 48-45. The teams traded leads nine times early in the second half, with Rhode Island’s final lead coming at 50-48 after James made two free throws and one of his five 3-pointers.

Travon Woodall’s free throw gave the Panthers the lead for good at 54-53, and they opened leads of as many as eight before two late 3-pointers by James made it close.

“You’ve got to take what they’re giving you, and they were giving us the 3,” said James, who was recruited to Rhode Island by new Pitt assistant Pat Skerry.

Dixon likes playing early season exempt tournaments because they give his team extra games during a time they normally would be practicing. But they can create matchups that the coaches of highly ranked teams generally prefer to avoid early in a season; in 2003, Pitt had to rally to avoid losing to Georgetown, Ky., of the NAIA in an exempt tournament.

Pitt was guaranteed of playing in the tournament’s semifinals Nov. 18 in New York even before playing Rhode Island. The Panthers play Illinois-Chicago in their second home game of the event Wednesday.

March 31, 2010 | AP Press

NEW YORK – North Carolina wrapped up last season by cutting down the nets during a championship celebration, and the goal all along has been to do it again this year.

The Tar Heels will have their chance Thursday night, under much different circumstances.

Deon Thompson had 16 points and 13 rebounds, helping North Carolina survive a frantic final few seconds and defeat Rhode Island 68-67 in overtime Thursday night in the NIT semifinals.

Will Graves added 14 points and Tyler Zeller had 13 for the Tar Heels (20-16), who will try to make bittersweet history against Dayton by becoming the first school to follow a national title with an NIT championship at Madison Square Garden.

“We enjoyed playing the last Monday night last year, and you know, we play the last Thursday night this year,” coach Roy Williams said. “Playing the last Monday night is better, there’s no question about that. But I do believe that if you’re playing — if they keep playing until there’s only one team standing — it’s very important to be that one team.”

The Tar Heels have played with a sense of desperation during the NIT, almost as if they have a chip on their shoulder, and that was borne out when they scored the final five points of regulation to force overtime.

In the extra session, North Carolina had possession with about 5 seconds left and the shot clock about to expire when Larry Drew II forced up a shot. The rebound eventually wound up in the hands of Rhode Island’s Lamonte Ulmer, who lost control of the ball as he rushed up court moments before the buzzer sounded, never coming close to getting off a shot.

Rhode Island coach Jim Baron thought he had been tripped and a foul should have been called, an opinion that North Carolina coach Roy Williams readily supported.

“We got the rebound and we were aiming to push it down the other end,” Baron said. “I thought there was some contact and he tripped.”

Ulmer finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Rhode Island (26-10), which was trying to reach the NIT championship game for the first time since the 1945-46 season. Keith Cothran scored 23 points and Delroy James finished with 13.

“Those guys played with a tremendous amount of heart,” Baron said. “That’s why I told them how proud I was, they put it all out there.”

The final seconds of overtime mirrored a frenetic end to regulation.

The game was tied 59-all when James missed two free throws with 28.6 seconds left. North Carolina tracked down the rebound and, after a timeout, Drew allowed the shot clock to run down to 6 seconds before taking a closely guarded 3-pointer that never had a chance.

“One of the players said in the locker room, ‘Sometimes it helps to win ugly,’” Williams said, “and we did win ugly today.”

Defense played a big part in it.

The Tar Heels ended up with 27 offensive rebounds and 60 total, compared to 45 for the Rams. Rhode Island also turned the ball over 18 times, including that critical miscue with the seconds ticking down in overtime.

“We didn’t execute very well and you hate to end the game like that in such an ugly way,” Drew said, “but sometimes that’s how it is in the game of basketball.”

It sure was a strange sight to see North Carolina, the bluest of the bluebloods, playing on a Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden — especially when the most important games are being played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Injuries and inexperience combined to send the Tar Heels’ season spiraling out of control, and they didn’t recover until their chances of making the NCAA tournament — and defending the title they earned by beating Michigan State last March — had disappeared entirely.

Relegated to playing in a tournament for also-rans, the Tar Heels went on the road to defeat Mississippi State and Alabama-Birmingham before knocking off a Rhode Island team that had the best RPI of any program that failed to make the NCAA tournament.

The season still ended up being a success for Rhode Island, which could have matched the school record for wins in a season had it won the NIT championship.

The Rams’ faithful certainly turned out in droves for the semifinals, easily outnumbering the Tar Heels fans clad in baby blue. They kept cheering until the final turnover in overtime, imploring a veteran team for one more night in the spotlight.

Instead, it will be North Carolina playing for yet another championship.

Even if it’s not what anybody expected.

“You know, I have a great appreciation of this tournament, I have a great appreciation of the tradition, the history of the NIT,” Williams said. “If you win this tournament, you have to feel good about it.”

March 24, 2010 | AP Press

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Delroy James and the Rhode Island Rams are ready to hit Manhattan.

James scored 18 points and Lamonte Ulmer added 13, including a big basket in the final seconds, to lead Rhode Island past Virginia Tech 79-72 in an NIT quarterfinal Wednesday night.

The second-seeded Rams (26-9) advanced to the NIT semifinals for the first time since 1946. They’ll play 2009 national champion North Carolina on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m just so excited for our players and everyone involved,” Rhode Island coach Jim Baron said. “You know, you’re right there on the bubble of the NCAA tournament and you beat a Big Ten team and a Western Athletic Conference and then an ACC team. Our kids showed a tremendous amount of will power to sustain and I’m really happy for them. This is a great win for us and our program.”

The Rams beat Northwestern in the first round and Nevada in the second round.

No. 1 seed Virginia Tech (25-9) led 60-48 following Malcolm Delaney’s two free throws with 14:43 left that capped an 18-8 run to start the second half. But the Rams answered with a 13-0 spurt and took a 61-60 lead with 11:05 remaining on a basket by Ulmer.

“We’ve had different guys step up on different nights and help us win,” Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said. “But we just didn’t do those things that we normally do. I don’t know if it was the stage or if it was pressure. There are so many factors that go into it. I’m just real disappointed.”

Rhode Island took the lead for good at 73-71 on a jumper by Keith Cothran with 2 minutes left. Virginia Tech had a chance to tie, but James got a piece of J.T. Thompson’s layup attempt with 46 seconds to go and grabbed the rebound.

The Rams then spread the court, and with the shot clock running down, Ulmer rebounded his own miss and laid it in with 10.6 seconds remaining.

“We were isolating and he was just real aggressive,” Baron said. “He attacked the bucket, and the funny part about it was I told the guys in practice that they were going to have to use the rim as a protector by going up and under. Sure enough, Lamonte made a great play by going up and under.”

Delaney hit one of two free throws with 6.9 seconds left to cut it to 75-72. But the Rams made all four of their free throws the rest of the way to seal it.

James, who scored a career-high 34 points in Rhode Island’s second-round win over Nevada, shot 7 of 18 from the floor. He also blocked four shots and grabbed six rebounds.

Delaney had 24 points for the Hokies, who lost in the NIT quarterfinals for the third straight year. Dorenzo Hudson added 19.

The Hokies, who fell one victory short of setting the school’s single-season record, shot better from the floor than the Rams, hitting 48.1 percent (26 of 54) compared to 46.7 percent (28 of 60). But Tech made only two of its final 17 shots.

“We weren’t as poised as well as we had been down the stretch,” Greenberg said. “As well as we executed the other night against Connecticut, we didn’t down the stretch tonight.”

March 22, 2010 | AP Press

KINGSTON, R.I. – Delroy James has established a reputation for being one of the Atlantic 10’s top offensive players.

The Rhode Island star was back at it on Monday night and also turned on the defense Monday night, helping the Rams beat Nevada 85-83 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

James scored a career-high 34 points and locked up Luke Babbitt, Nevada’s leading scorer and the WAC player of the year.

“They were able to match up with Babbitt, athletically,” Nevada coach Dave Carter said. “I thought they contested his shots and made it very difficult for him to score.”

Babbitt entered as the eighth-leading scorer in the country with a 22.1 average, but finished with 14 points. He connected on only two of 14 shots — both in the second half — and scored 10 points at the free-throw line.

“He missed some easy ones that he normally would make,” Carter said. “But sometimes when you’re physical and you’re able to contest shots and make guys work for it I think that’s what they did tonight.”

As a result, the Rams (25-9) will play a third-round game Wednesday at Virginia Tech, which eliminated Connecticut 65-63.

Brandon Fields led the Wolf Pack (21-13) with 25 points, while Keith Cothran added 16 for Rhode Island and teammate Lamonte Ulmer grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

“Babbitt is a very good player a top 20 pick,” James said. “I tried to make it a rough night for him. If you play hard on defense, you have to attack on offense.”

James drained one of his five 3-point shots to spark a 24-16 run and give the Rams their largest lead of the first half at 36-26.

Fields then scored seven consecutive points for Nevada to forge a 37-37 tie, but Rhode Island’s Will Martell and Stevie Mejia combined to score five straight points for a 42-37 halftime lead.

James’ layup with 4:49 left in regulation gave Rhode Island a seemingly comfortable 74-64 lead. But the Wolf Pack connected on all 10 of their free-throw attempts down the stretch and Fields drained a 3-point shot with 5.2 seconds left to pull Nevada within 84-83.

Cothran then sank one of two free-throw attempts and Nevada threw the ball away on its ensuing possession. That turnover was the Wolf Pack’s 16th, and Rhode Island capitalized by scoring 23 points off Nevada’s miscues.

Conversely, Rhode Island committed only two turnovers.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a game where my team only made two turnovers,” Rams coach Jim Baron said. “That shows we made good decisions.”

AP Photo

March 7, 2010 | Atlantic10.com

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Junior guard Kevin Anderson of Richmond has been named the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference’s 14 head coaches.

The A-10 coaches also selected Fordham’s Chris Gaston as the Rookie of the Year, Chris Johnson of Dayton as the recipient of the Chris Daniels Award as the league’s most improved player, Temple’s Ramone Moore as Sixth Man of the Year, Damian Saunders of Duquesne as Defensive Player of the Year and Temple’s Fran Dunphy as Coach of the Year. In addition, Yves Mekongo of La Salle was tabbed Student-Athlete of the Year in voting among the league’s sports information directors.

Anderson ranks fifth in the Conference in scoring (17.8 ppg.) while leading the third-seeded Spiders to program highs in both regular season (24) and A-10 (13) victories. A second-team selection a year ago, the native of Duluth, Ga., has scored 20 or more points 12 times this season and also leads UR in assists (83) and steals (56). Anderson is the program’s first student-athlete to be tabbed A-10 Player of the Year since UR entered the league in 2001-02.

A two-time Player of the Week selection this season, Anderson is joined on the All-Conference first-team by Lavoy Allen of Temple, Xavier’s Jordan Crawford, Damian Saunders of Duquesne and Dayton’s Chris Wright. Crawford leads the A-10 in scoring at 19.7 ppg., while Wright garnered second-team distinction last season. For the first time in the league’s 34-year history, the first-team All-Conference consists of only sophomores and juniors.

The All-Conference second-team includes Temple’s Ryan Brooks, David Gonzalvez of Richmond, La Salle’s Rodney Green, Kwamain Mitchell of Saint Louis and St. Bonaventure’s Andrew Nicholson. Teammates Keith Cothran and Delroy James of Rhode Island, Massachusetts’ Ricky Harris, Jason Love of Xavier and Charlotte’s Shamari Spears were named to the third team. Temple’s Juan Fernandez, Damian Hollis of George Washington and Willie Reed of Saint Louis earned honorable mention acclaim

A four-time A-10 Rookie of the Week selection, Gaston leads all freshmen nationally in both scoring (18.0 ppg.) and rebounding (11.4), while his 504 points are the most by a freshman in team annals. The 6-7 forward leads the A-10 with three 30-point performances, pulled down at least 10 rebounds on 20 different occasions, and registered 19 double-doubles. Gaston is the third Fordham student-athlete to earn A-10 Rookie of the Year distinction, joining Bevon Robin (1998) and Bryant Dunston (2005).

Gaston is joined on the All-Rookie team by Chris Braswell of Charlotte, Cody Ellis of Saint Louis, George Washington’s Lasan Kromah, Aaric Murray of La Salle and Rhode Island’s Akeem Richmond.

The first-ever Duquesne player to garner A-10 Defensive Player of the Year distinction, Saunders enters this week’s A-10 Championship atop the league in both blocked shots (93) and steals (84) while averaging 14.9 ppg. and 11.4 rpg. The Waterbury, Conn., resident boasts 19 double-doubles and 19 performances with double-digit rebounds. Moreover, his 84 steals are tops in program history. The All-Defensive team is comprised of Saunders, Allen, Gonzalvez, Dayton’s London Warren and Garrett Williamson of Saint Joseph’s. Allen, Warren and Williamson are repeat selections.

Johnson was tabbed the recipient of the Atlantic 10’s Chris Daniels Award, presented to the Conference’s most improved player. A year ago, the 6-6 forward averaged 6.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and knocked down 24 field goals from beyond the arc. This season, the Columbus, Ohio, native enters the A-10 Championship ranked second on the Flyers in both scoring (11.8 ppg.) and rebounding (7.0 rpg.) while boasting 55 three-point field goals. He has grabbed 10 or more rebounds six times this season and has three 20-point performances to his credit.

Moore has provided a spark off the Temple bench in his sophomore campaign, averaging 7.6 points and dishing out 47 assists in just 17.6 minutes per game. In A-10 play, the 6-4 guard from Philadelphia, Pa., averaged 9.8 points on 51.3 percent shooting (61-for-119).

A three-time Academic All-Conference selection, Mekongo recently earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first-team distinction. The senior forward from Elizabeth, N.J., boasts a 3.81 grade point average while majoring in Integrated Science, Business & Technology. A second-team Academic All-American a year ago, Mekongo averaged 11.0 points and finished his career with 1,014 points. Joining Mekongo on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team are Brian Conklin of Saint Louis, Duquesne’s Jason Duty, Kurt Huelsman of Dayton and Rhode Island’s Will Martell.

Now in his fourth season at Temple, Dunphy guided the Owls to their first A-10 regular season title since 2002 and the top seed in this week’s Atlantic 10 Championship. Ranked 16th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 20th in the Associated Press top 25, TU compiled a mark of 14-2 in Conference play, while its 26 regular-season victories equaled the Owls’ second-highest total in team history. In addition, Temple leads the league in both scoring defense (56.8 ppg.) and field goal percentage defense (38.1). The Owls have captured the last two A-10 Championships and are 81-48 (.628) under Dunphy.

March 9, 2009 | Atlantic 10 Website

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Saint Joseph’s senior forward Ahmad Nivins has been named the 2008-09 Atlantic 10 men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference’s 14 head coaches.

The A-10 coaches also selected Andrew Nicholson of St. Bonaventure as the Rookie of the Year, Duquesne’s Aaron Jackson as the Chris Daniels Award recipient as the league’s most improved player, Delroy James of Rhode Island as Sixth Man of the Year, Massachusetts’ Tony Gaffney as Defensive Player of the Year and Rhode Island’s Jim Baron as Coach of the Year. In addition, Kevin Lisch of Saint Louis was tabbed Student-Athlete of the Year in voting among the league’s sports information directors.

Ahmad Nivins – Saint Joseph’s Hawks (F)

Nivins enters this week’s Atlantic 10 Championship (Mar. 11-14) in Atlantic City tied with Temple’s Dionte Christmas for the scoring lead with an average of 19.2 ppg. A third-team selection a year ago, the 6-9 forward from Jersey City, N.J., leads the Conference in rebounding (11.7 rpg.), minutes (39.43 mpg.) and double-doubles (20), while his league-best .625 shooting percentage (193-of-309) puts him on pace to join former George Washington standout Alexander Koul (1995-97) as the only players in A-10 history to lead the league in field goal percentage three consecutive years. A member of the All-Defensive Team, Nivins is the fourth player in SJU annals to earn the league’s Player of the Year honor and first since sharpshooter Pat Carroll in 2004-05.

A five-time Player of the Week selection this season, Nivins is joined on the All- Conference first-team by Christmas, Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island, Aaron Jackson of Duquesne and Xavier’s B.J. Raymond. Christmas is vying to become the league’s first-ever three-time scoring champion, while James is the first Duquesne player to garner first-team distinction since Mike James in 1997-98. The All-Conference second-team consists of Gaffney, Richmond’s Kevin Anderson, Derrick Brown of Xavier, Rodney Green of La Salle and Dayton’s Chris Wright. The third-team includes Lisch, Lavoy Allen of Temple, Massachusetts’ Ricky Harris, Lamont Mack of Charlotte and Rhode Island’s Kahiem Seawright.

Xavier’s C.J. Anderson, David Gonzalvez of Richmond, Dayton’s Marcus Johnson, Chris Lowe of UMass, and Damian Saunders of Duquesne earned honorable mention acclaim.

A program-record six-time A-10 Rookie of the Week selection, Nicholson enters this week’s A-10 Championship as the top freshman nationally in both blocked shots (79) and field goal percentage (.607 – 150-of-246). The Mississauga, Ontario, native is tied for second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg.) and third in rebounding (6.0 rpg.) and scored in double figures in 20 of the Bonnies’ 29 contests. The 6-9 forward is the first SBU freshman to garner Rookie of the Year honors since Alvin Lott in 1983-84.

Nicholson is joined on the All-Rookie team by Melquan Bolding of Duquesne, Fordham’s Jio Fontan, Dayton’s Chris Johnson and Kwamain Mitchell of Saint Louis.

With 113 blocks and 59 steals entering Massachusetts’ opening round contest versus Duquesne on Mar. 11, Gaffney is the first player nationally since Shelden Williams (Duke, 2005-06) to register 100 blocks and 50 steals in a season. The senior forward leads the A-10 in blocks (3.90 bpg.), ranks second in rebounding (10.2 rpg.) and steals (2.03 spg.) and pulled down at least 10 rebounds in 18 of the Minutemen’s 29 games.

The All-Defensive team is comprised of Gaffney, Allen, Nivins, Dayton’s London Warren and Garrett Williamson of Saint Joseph’s.

Jackson was tabbed the Atlantic 10’s Chris Daniels Award, presented to the Conference’s most improved player. A year ago, the Hartford, Conn., resident averaged nine points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. This season, the senior guard has blossomed into one of the most complete players in the Conference, ranking in the top five of the league in scoring (third – 18.3 ppg.), assists (third – 5.79 apg.), field goal percentage (fourth – .543) and steals (fifth – 1.72 spg.). The versatile James has provided a spark off the bench for the Rams as a junior, averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in just 24.2 minutes per game. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native ranks third on the team in assists (65) and has a pair of 20-point performances to his credit.

A two-time Academic All-Conference selection, Lisch is averaging a team-leading 14.2 points and also leads the Billikens in three-pointers (69) and steals (37) en route to earning All-Conference honors for the second consecutive year. In the classroom, the Belleville, Ill., resident boasts a 3.48 grade point average while majoring in Business Administration. He was named to the 2008-09 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine All-America third-team.

Joining Lisch on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team is Baron, Massachusetts’ Luke Bonner, Jason Duty of Duquesne and La Salle’s Yves Mekongo Mbala.

Selected by the league’s head coaches and media to finish ninth in the A-10 preseason poll, Baron led Rhode Island to an 11-5 league mark and 22-9 overall record. URI enters the Championship as the second seed and boasts the league’s highest scoring offense, averaging 80.1 ppg. The only coach in league history to earn A-10 Coach of the Year honors at two different schools, Baron was tabbed as the Conference’s Coach of the Year in 1995 while at St. Bonaventure and at Rhode Island in both 2003 and 2007. In eight seasons at URI, Baron is 130-116 (.528) and 336-318 overall (.514).

2008-09 ATLANTIC 10 MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS First-Team School Cl. Pos. Ht. Hometown PPG RPG Asts Stls Blks

First-Team

Jimmy Baron Rhode Island Sr. G. 6-3 East Grennwich, R.I. 16.8 2.7 60 22 2
Dionte Christmas Temple Sr. G 6-5 Philadelphia, Pa. 19.2 6.1 88 41 5
Aaron Jackson Duquesne Sr. G 6-4 Hartford, Conn. 18.3 5.7 168 50 3
Ahmad Nivins Saint Joseph’s Sr. F 6-9 Jersey City, N.J.     19.2 11.7 32 19 55
B.J. Raymond Xavier Sr. G/F 6-6 Toledo, Ohio 13.8 4.2 46 17 12 

Second-Team

Kevin Anderson Richmond So. G 5-11 Duluth, Ga. 16.2 2.9 82 44 2
Derrick Brown Xavier Jr. F 6-8 Dayton, Ohio 13.8 6.1 61 21 28
Tony Gaffney Massachusetts Sr. F 6-8 Berkley, Mass. 11.5 10.2 49 59 113
Rodney Green La Salle Jr. G 6-5 Philadelphia, Pa. 17.6 4.9 105 56 5
Chris Wright Dayton So. F 6-8 Trotwood, Ohio 13.1 6.5 29 28 37  

Third-Team

Lavoy Allen Temple So. F 6-9 Morrisville, Pa. 11.1 8.6 62 13 48
Ricky Harris Massachusetts Jr. G 6-2 Baltimore, Md. 18.2 2.9 44 37 5
Kevin Lisch Saint Louis Sr. G 6-2 Belleville, Ill. 14.2 3.4 75 37 1
Lamont Mack Charlotte Sr. F 6-7 Chicago, Ill. 15.1 5.6 27 24 10
Kahiem Seawright Rhode Island Sr. F 6-8 Uniondale, N.Y. 13.8 7.4 68 25 31

Honorable Mention

C.J. Anderson Xavier Sr. G/F 6-6 Cincinnati, Ohio 10.2 5.6 68 19 17
David Gonzalvez Richmond Jr. G 6-4 Marietta, Ga. 15.6 4.6 59 39 14
Marcus Johnson Dayton Jr. G 6-3 Cleveland, Ohio 12.1 3.2 50 26 15
Chris Lowe Massachusetts Sr. G 6-0 Mount Vernon, N.Y. 12.1 3.0 190 22 2
Damian Saunders Duquesne So. F 6-7 Waterbury, Conn. 13.3 7.9 66 66 66 

Rookie Team

Melquan Bolding Duquesne Fr. G/F 6-4 Mount Vernon, N.Y. 9.0 4.1 34 28 6
Jio Fontan Fordham Fr. G 5-11 Patterson, N.J. 15.3 2.7 132 33 3
Chris Johnson Dayton Fr. G/F 6-5 Columbus, Ohio 6.5 5.4 18 17 5
Kwamain Mitchell Saint Louis Fr. G 5-10 Milwaukee, Wis. 10.0 3.2 106 35 1
Andrew Nicholson St. Bonaventure Fr. F 6-9 Mississauga, Ontario 12.5 6.0 7 79 16 

Defensive Team

Lavoy Allen Temple So. F 6-9 Morrisville, Pa. 11.1 8.6 62 13 48
Tony Gaffney Massachusetts Sr. F 6-8 Berkley, Mass. 11.5 10.2 49 59 113
Ahmad Nivins Saint Joseph’s Sr. F 6-9 Jersey City, N.J.     19.2 11.7 32 19 55
London Warren Dayton Jr. G 6-0 Jacksonville, Fla. 4.2 2.7 126 48 4
Garrett Williamson Saint Joseph’s Jr. G 6-5 Lower Merion, Pa. 5.9 3.7 135 43 36

Academic Team

Jimmy Baron Rhode Island Sr. G 6-3 East Greenwich, R.I. Communication Studies
Luke Bonner Massachusetts Gr. C 7-1 Concord, N.H. Sports Management
Jason Duty Duquesne Jr. G 6-1 Cranberry Township, Pa. Accounting
Kevin Lisch Saint Louis Sr. G 6-2 Belleville, Ill. Business Administration
Yves Mekongo Mbala La Salle Jr. F 6-7 Elizabeth, N.J. Integrated Science & Business Technology

Player of the Year: Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph’s

Rookie of the Year: Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure

Defensive Player of the Year: Tony Gaffney, Massachusetts

Chris Daniels Most Improved Player of the Year: Aaron Jackson, Duquesne

Sixth Man of the Year: Delroy James, Rhode Island

Student-Athlete of the Year: Kevin Lisch, Saint Louis

Coach of the Year: Jim Baron, Rhode Island

AP Photo

March 7, 2009 by Chris Frechette | A10CollegeHoops

KINGSTON, RI — The stage was set for another big win for URI.  Marquis Jones had just hit two free throws to put the Rams up 71-70 with just six seconds to play.  After a UMass timeout, the Minutement inbounded the ball to their star point guard, Chris Lowe.  Lowe then dribbled the ball coast to coast for a gamewinning layup over Ram forward Kahiem Seawright to win the game, 72-71. 

Lowe got a little help on the play by teammate Matt Glass who made a crippling blind pick on URI defender, Lamonte Ulmer, sending Ulmer to the floor in a heap.  URI and it’s 7,707 fans in attendence were waiting to hear a whistle blown on the play that didn’t come.  Maybe if the play was earlier in the game, a whistle would’ve come, but not in the final seconds.  The Rams and Ram faithful just stood stunned after what had just transpired. 

It was games like these URI was just getting used to winning.  Like the Dayton game a few weeks back where the crowd rushed the floor on “Pinkout night” after Jones hit the game winning basket.  The feeling was similar at the sold out Ryan Center on senior night.  After  Jones drove the lane and was fouled by UMass center, Luke Bonner, Jones hit both free throws to put the Rams up by one.  Security advised those in the courtside seats to prepare to take cover in case the crowd rushed the floor again.  Unfortunately for URI, that scenario didn’t come.

Chris Lowe led the Minutement with 18 points and 7 assists.  Also in double figures for UMass (12-17, 7-9 A-10) were Ricky Harris with 13 points, Gary Corriea with 12, and Matt Glass with 13 points all in the first half.  It appreared as though Glass couldn’t miss as he hit open shot after open shot going 5-6 from the field and 3-4 from behind the 3 point arc.

URI Coach Jim Baron acknowledged the open shots allowed by his Rams.  “They shot the ball well,” he said.  “We let them have open shots and they hit them”. 

In the first half URI wasn’t hitting anything from 3 point range, going 0 for 12 from threes in the entire first half, including o for 5 from URI guard Jimmy Baron.  Baron did heat up in the second half scoring 16 of his game high 22 points on 4 of 7 shooting from three point range.  URI was also led by Lamonte Ulmer’s 12 points, mostly on alley oops, dunks and layups.  Ulmer shot 5 for 6 from the field and 2 for 3 from the charity stripe.  Delroy James chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds.

URI’s first three pointer came with 14:47 left in the second half from Jimmy Baron, who was the only Ram to hit a three pointer in the whole game as the Rams went 4 for 19 (21%) for the game.  Baron’s second three at 5:57 left in the second half broke the URI single season three point record of 99 as well as the Atlantic 10 all-time record of 342.  Baron ended up with 102 threes for the season and 344 for his career.

One can only wonder what this loss means for URI (22-9, 11-5 A-10) in their quest for an NCAA tourney bid.  The A-10 would clearly like to be represented by 3 teams in the NCAA tourney, but the problem seems that their top teams aren’t closing the season out with wins.  Temple, Dayton and now URI have all lost within the last seven days.

URI players and coaches wouldn’t speculate what this loss does for their tourney hopes, but UMass coach Derek Kellogg thinks highly of the Rams.  “They’re a NCAA tournament quality team,”  he said.  But Kellogg also wouldn’t speculate if this loss burst the Rams bubble.

“You got to give credit to Lowe, he made some big plays,”  Baron said.  “He made a great play with the layup on the last play”.

When asked about senior night, Baron said, “It’s emotionally draining, we were flat, and I knew it would be a hard fought game.  You can’t take anything for granted”.

The Rams need to heed that advice and not let the NCAA committee decide their fate.  Their way into the Big Dance may now only come by winning the A-10 tournament.

March 1, 2009 by Josh Taylor | A10CollegeHoops

PITTSBURGH, PA. — If there was ever any doubt about Aaron Jackson’s legitimacy as an elite college basketball player, perhaps one of his best efforts to remove it came over the weekend against Rhode Island. Jackson led all scorers with 24 points and added seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in a heroic effort that fell just short in the final seconds of a 73-71 loss.

On a Sunday afternoon where Duquesne honored their starting point guard, along with teammate Phillip Fayne for Senior Day at the A.J. Palumbo Center, Jackson helped get the Dukes started early with a back-door bounce pass to freshman Melquan Bolding for a slam dunk just 36 seconds into the game to put them on the board. From that point on, it was understood that it was going to be one of those days where the crowd was in for a good show.

After two early three-pointers by Jimmy Baron helped give Rhode Island a 10-4 lead, Jackson helped lead a string of three consecutive baskets with another baseline feed to Bolding for a reverse layup, and then a layup of his own to bring Duquesne within two. Bill Clark’s floater inside the paint with 16:16 remaining tied the game at 10.

Afterward came a battle between the two teams that saw four lead changes and five ties through the duration of the half. Keith Cothran’s dunk following a rebound off a Delroy James miss put Rhode Island ahead, 32-27, with 4:04 to go. Cothran scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor.

But then Duquesne answered with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Damian Saunders three-pointer from the top of the circle to give them a 34-32 lead with 3:02 remaining. The 6-foot-7 sophomore forward was faced with the difficult task of defending 7-foot center Will Martell, but he held him to only four points, recording four blocked shots and three steals to go with his 12 points and six rebounds. Also, the Dukes held the scoring edge in the paint, 38-34, as Saunders and Clark combined for 33 points.

“Damian and Billy are playing as well as we could ask them to,” Everhart said of his two sophomore starting forwards, who have been forced to play against bigger opponents due to the Dukes’ lack of size in the front court. “Of course there are games when Damian can play better and there are days when I just want to choke Billy, but I have no problem with the effort they have given.”

After Rhode Island guard Marquis Jones’ layup helped tie the game for the Rams on their ensuing possession, Duquesne rattled off another string of three unanswered baskets to close out the half. The Dukes’ freshman led the way, as two B.J. Monteiro free throws and a pair of Bolding jumpers — the latter of which came from the right baseline with two seconds left — closed out the half with the home team ahead, 40-34.

In the second half, Duquesne worked quickly to build on their lead as Bolding hit a three pointer at about two minutes in to put the Dukes ahead, 45-38. He shot 6-for-8 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc for 16 points, along with six rebounds.

Rhode Island quickly responded with a layup by Jones and another three-pointer from Baron – he made four of his eight attempts behind the arc – to pull the Rams within two. But Bolding struck again with his second three pointer, Saunders added another from the left corner, and Duquesne was back up by six at 15:54.

Over the next two and a half minutes, Rhode Island went on a 15-3 run, including five points by Baron, six by Kahiem Seawright, and a steal by Jones for a layup that had the Rams ahead, 60-54 with 11:33 to go. Baron, a former prep school teammate of Jackson’s, finished with 14 points, and Seawright scored 24, with 17 coming in the second half.

Duquesne began to chip away at the lead, with Jackson leading the charge. He scored 16 of the Dukes’ final 20 points, and his jumper with 2:01 remaining tied the game at 66. Two free throws by Seawright moments later put Rhode Island ahead by two.

But it was James — the younger brother of former Duquesne forward and season blocked shot record holder Shawn James — that delivered what Everhart called, “the biggest shot of the game.” His driving, left-handed hook shot off the glass with 1:11 remaining put the Rams up, 70-66, seemingly putting the game out of reach.

However, Jackson and his mates refused to concede, as he forced a steal off Baron and scored on a layup with 36 seconds to go to pull back within two. Seawright responded with a power move inside for a slam and a four-point Rams’ lead that became five when Cothran converted one of two free throw attempts.

Jackson then let the ensuing inbound pass bounce to half court before picking it up, pulling up at the top of the key and draining a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two with only six seconds to go. Seawright then missed the first of a one-and-one bonus free throw attempt, rebounded by Saunders and giving Duquesne a chance to tie the game or win it with five seconds left.

“I was thinking, this is our chance to win the game,” Jackson said.

Jones, with two Rams’ team fouls to give, made a heady veteran move and fouled immediately to force Duquesne to inbound from the far end of the court with three seconds left. Then, on the ensuing inbound play, he fouled again to force another inbound with 1.5 seconds to go.

Jackson got the inbound pass and got in position to shoot the potential game-winner from the top of the circle, but his three-point attempt fell short, and so did Duquesne’s comeback hopes. 

“We tried to run a back-door screen play for Damian or [Jason] Duty,” Everhart explained, “but they guarded it pretty well and Aaron cut in between them. If we would’ve had another timeout, we probably would’ve used it and tried to do something else.”

Trailing Temple by one game in the A-10 standings, Duquesne has a meeting Wednesday against St. Louis in their home finale and a March 7 meeting with Dayton, needing to likely win both games in order to finish in fourth place and secure a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

“We tried to get the win today, but we didn’t, so we have to look towards the next game,” Jackson said. “We want to win these last two games and get that bye, so we’re going to get to practicing to get there.”

February 25, 2009 by Chris Frechette | A10CollegeHoops

KINGSTON, RI – URI was pretty in pink tonight at the annual “pink out” game as they defeated Dayton 93-91 in overtime on a last second driving layup by point guard Marquis Jones as time expired.  

After Dayton shooting guard Marcus Johnson tied the game at 91-91 on a 3 pointer with Rhody guard Jimmy Baron in his face with 12 seconds left, Jones brought the ball upcourt, worked off of a pick from forward Kahiem Seawright, drove the lane and put up a layup with his back to the basket that rattled around the rim and fell through as the buzzer went off sending the 7,218 Rhode Island fans into a frenzy.

“I got a screen from Kahiem and what happened, happened,” Jones said.  “I was trying to get fouled as I went up (for the shot)”.   The overtime win puts the Rams’ record at 3-1 in overtime games this year, 12-1 at home,  and brings their overall record to 21-8, 10-4 in the A-10 which is good for third place in the conference.

Kahiem Seawright puts the last play of the game in different perspective.  “I wanted the last shot so bad.  We did a pick and roll, they switched, I rolled and I had a little guy on me and I looked at him like you better give me the ball,” he said.  “Marquis made a move and I was still looking at him saying you better give me the ball, and he made the shot.  So he didn’t have to give me the ball.”

Rhode Island was led by a balanced scoring attack  where five players reached double figures.  Jimmy Baron, Kahiem Seawright, and Keith Cothran all had 19 points, while Delroy James chipped in 18 points and Marquis Jones added 13 points.

URI was on fire in the first half, shooting 17-29 from the floor (59%), and 8-11 from three point range (73%).  The Rams finished the last minute of the first half with a 7-0 run on two free throws from Delroy James, a three pointer from Jimmy Baron, and Delroy James dunk off of a steal from Marquis Jones which gave the Rams a 52-44 halftime lead.  URI’s 52 halftime points was just 7 shy of the 59 points per game the Flyers average on defense. 

“Our defense was just awful in the first half,” Dayton coach Brian Gregory said.  “With that being said, they’re (URI) the most efficient offensive team in the league.”  The Flyers tightened up their defense in the second half and allowed only half the points they allowed in the first half (26).  Led by a game high 21 points from Marcus Johnson, Dayton (23-5, 9-4 A-10) clawed back into the game to force overtime on a layup by point guard London Warren (6 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals).

“You saw a great indication on how good the (A-10) league is,” Gregory said.  “You saw a team with 21 wins and a team with 23 wins, and you saw why (they both have that many wins)”.  Gregory added, “You lose on the road in this league and you don’t have to apologize to anybody, and I don’t apologize for our effort tonight”.

“This is the greatest moment I’ve had at URI,” said Jimmy Baron.  “We didn’t win these types of games last year, or early this year.  We’re all on the same page now, setting ourselves up for success”.

Coach Baron agreed that URI’s recent success has to be attributed to its senior leadership.  “The senior leadership has been tremendous,” he said.  “I couldn’t be more proud of our kids, they played with great tenacity”.

Jimmy Baron was also named to the second team Academic All-American team by ESPN the Magazine.

The University of Rhode Island community raised over $19,000 dollars for the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation with their annual “Pink Out” game.

February 21, 2009 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY – Jimmy Baron scored 19 of his 29 points in the first half and Rhode Island handed Fordham its sixth straight loss, 77-58 on Saturday.

Kahiem Seawright added 19 points for Rhode Island (20-8, 9-4 Atlantic 10) in the matchup of teams nicknamed Rams, while Delroy James had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Mike Moore had 19 of his 28 points in the second half for Fordham (3-21, 1-11), which has lost 14 of its last 15. Freshman Jio Fontan had 19 points for Fordham.

Baron had two of his six 3-pointers in a 10-0 run that have Rhode Island a 16-6 lead with 14:50 left in the first half. Rhode Island’s biggest lead of the half was 39-21 on two free throws by Ben Eaves with 3:44 to go. Rhode Island led 47-23 at halftime.

Baron was 10-for-12 from the field including 6-for-8 on 3s while Rhode Island finished 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) beyond the arc.