Feb. 11, 2009

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KINGSTON, R.I. - Senior shooting guard Jimmy Baron's game-high 28 points, including 23 in the second half, helped Rhode Island erase a 15-point halftime deficit for an 87-80 comeback win over St. Bonaventure Wednesday night at the Ryan Center.

The game was a tale of two halves, as the Bonnies built a 49-34 lead at the break. Baron shot the Rams out of that deficit, connecting on five three-pointers and 8-of-12 from the field in the second half to help URI out-score the Brown and White 53-31 over the final 20 minutes, denying the visitors from setting a program record for road wins.

The loss slips St. Bonaventure to 12-11 on the season and 3-7 in the Atlantic 10 heading into Saturday's showdown against UMass (9-13, 4-5). Rhode Island (17-8) picks up its 17th win of the season with the victory and improves to 6-4 in league play.

"Obviously a disappointing final 20 minutes and as well as we played in the first half, that's how bad we played in the second half," said head coach Mark Schmidt. "The first five minutes and opening 10 possessions of the second half were critical. They came at us and we just had no answers."

Freshman Andrew Nicholson led three Bonnies in double figures with 19 points. Nicholson sank 7-of-10 from the field, while adding a team-best seven rebounds and four blocks. Sophomore Malcolm Eleby added 12 points, while junior Chris Matthews had 11 points on three trifectas.

After being held to five points in the first half, Baron began to heat up and so did the Rams as they opened the second half on a 12-2 run. Baron caught fire from long range during the spurt, knocking down a pair of trifectas to pull URI within five, 51-46.

A three-point play by senior D'Lancy Carter broke the Rhode Island momentum for a brief moment, but it responded, this time, with a 10-2 run to knot the score up at 56-56 by second media timeout of the half (12:17).

St. Bonaventure regained the lead over the next four minutes and owned a 66-64 advantage with 7:07 left, until Rhode Island's third big run of the half put the game away. Once again, it was Baron doing the damage, as he sank two more long range field goals to put the Rams up 76-68 with 2:13 to play.

The URI lead grew to as large as 10, 80-70, and the Bonnies couldn't recover from 12 second half turnovers en route to the loss.

Despite shooting 48 percent (29-60) from the field and a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line, St. Bonaventure was once again plagued by 18 turnovers that lead to 24 Rhode Island points. The Bonnies slight 35-33 edge on the glass was overshadowed by 10 offensive rebounds in the second half by the Rams.

Baron's 28 points came on 10-of-15 from the field and 6-of-10 from deep, as six players scored at least eight points for the Rams, who scored more than 80 points for the 13th time this season.

Junior Jonathan Hall chipped in with eight points, seven boards and five assists in the loss. Senior Tyler Benson knocked down a trio of three-pointers for nine points.

Trailing 10-7 just over five minutes into the game, the Bonnies ripped off a quick 7-0 run that lasted one minute and one second. Junior Maurice Thomas provided the initial spark with an old-fashioned three-point play, while junior Ray Blackburn, who played for the first time in six games, had a hand in the next two field goals to swing the lead in favor of the visitors, at 14-10.

Still leading 19-18, St. Bonaventure created the game's first real separation by scoring on five consecutive possessions, resulting in a half-changing 13-2 scoring spurt. Three-point plays keyed the run, as Nicholson started things by converting on a layup plus the foul, while Benson and Matthews buried trifectas in back-to-back possessions to give the Brown and White a 32-20 edge with 9:56 to play.

The Bona offense hit its first snag of the first half over the next six minutes, managing just a pair of field goals and two free throws. Rhode Island capitalized during the Bonnies' offensive slumber, cutting the deficit to five, 38-33, at the 3:52 mark.

The final three minutes and change belonged to St. Bonaventure, though, as the visitors closed the half on an 11-1 run to take a 49-34 lead into the locker room. Five different players contributed a field goal during the run, highlighted by Benson's second three-pointer.

St. Bonaventure's 15-point halftime edge was its second-best on the road this season, as it shot 53 percent (17-28) over the opening 20 minutes. The Bonnies came into the game averaging an A-10-low four three-pointers, but made five in the first half and sank 10-of-10 from the free throw line.

St. Bonaventure's A-10 clash against Massachusetts on Saturday, Feb. 14, will tip-off a 7 p.m. at the Reilly Center.