Outerbridge’s return sparks Rams
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Orion Outerbridge showed the Rams exactly what they were missing during his absence.
Playing for the first time this season after sitting out the fall semester to focus on his academics, Outerbridge scored 12 points Wednesday, including the final four in the closing seconds, as Rhode Island held on for an 67-65 win over Boston College at the Ryan Center.
The Rams (9-4) led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but the Eagles (10-3) kept fighting, pulling to within three on back-to-back 3-pointers by Joe Trapani with 4:40 to go.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCorey Raji had a chance to trim the deficit to one on Boston College’s next possession, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one from the free-throw line. Nikola Malesevic collected the rebound and dished to Outerbridge, who dunked in transition to give the Rams a five-point cushion. After a pair of Raji free throws cut Rhode Island’s lead to 65-62, Outerbridge threw down another dunk on a second-chance possession to ice the game with 1:18 to go.
Outerbridge scored all 12 points off the bench. Malesevic led the team with 16 points, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range, while Akeem Richmond chipped in with 15. Trapani finished with a team-high 18 points for the Eagles on 4-of-6 shooting.
The Rams opened up a 14-point lead with 6:01 remaining in the first half on a jumper by Marquis Jones (11 points), but the Eagles answered with a 13-3 run to pull to within four. Rhode Island bumped its lead back to nine points before the end of the half on back-to-back baskets by Delroy James and a pair of free throws by Will Martell with three seconds to go.
Boston College refused to quit. The Eagles opened the second half on an 11-0 run to retake the lead, capped by five consecutive points from Trapani, including the go-ahead three with 16:27 remaining. Rhode Island regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Richmond and then snapped a 51-51 tie later in the half with a 6-0 run to break the game open. James finished the rally with four consecutive points on a jumper and two free throws.
Wednesday’s game was the start of a tough upcoming stretch for Rhode Island, which will travel to Florida to face the Gators on Jan. 3 before opening Atlantic 10 conference play on Jan. 9 against Xavier. The current combined record of the Rams’ next three opponents (including Richmond) is 26-9; each of those opponents are ranked among the top 70 in the RPI.
Related Articles
- Rams End Skid Against Wildcats
- Rams Hang Tough, Fall to #4 Pitt
- Rams bounce back at Northeastern
- Rams must shape up or ship out
- Rams rally for second consecutive win
