URI Lets One Get Away at George Mason 61-54
Sunday, December 01, 2013
URI grinded tough, played ugly, and nearly stole a road win over a conference foe Saturday, but their inability to finish strong coupled with an afternoon's worth of missed opportunities proved too difficult to overcome as George Mason prevailed 61-54.
URI trailed for the entire 1st half, but kept the defecit within 7 for the whole period and went into the break down just 33-31. In the 2nd half, the game somehow got sloppier yet it became a more back-and-forth affair, featuring 6 ties and 4 lead changes in all.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGeorge Mason closed the game on a 7-0 run, attacking the rim down the stretch at will as Rams big men Ifeanyi Onyekaba and Gilvydas Biruta sat on the sidelines in foul trouble (Onyekaba fouled out with over 5 minutes to go, Biruta picked up his 4th foul shortly before that). The Rams played too much 1-on-1 basketball in the game's waning moments and forced up a few bad shots. The difference was reflected on the scoreboard.
Looking at the box score, it's amazing the Rams even had a chance to win the game late in the 2nd half. They committed 15 turnovers and had just 4 assists. George Mason outrebounded URI 36-30 and both teams had mediocre shooting performances all-around. George Mason had 15 points off the bench, while URI managed 13.
GMU star guard Sherrod Wright scored 16 points to lead all scorers Saturday. Marko Gujanicic scored 13 points for the Patriots, and Jalen Jenkins scored 9 points off the bench for the victors, including a couple huge buckets down the strectch.
Xavier Munford led the Rams with 13 points, but did so on 5-18 shooting and appeared frustrated throughout the game. Biruta scored 12 points for URI.
The loss drops the Rams to 6-3 on the season and breaks a 3 game winning streak..
URI next plays Thursday night when they host in-state rival Providence College at the Ryan Center at 8 p.m.
