URI Comes Back From 49-34 Deficit, Beats St. Bonaventure

Jimmy Baron scored 23 second half points to lead URI over St. Bonaventure after being down 49-34 at halftime, via ProJo Sports:

Depth helped the University of Rhode Island beat St. Bonaventure Wednesday night, as Keith Cothran and Delroy James came off the bench to provide 27 points in an 87-80 victory over St. Bonaventure. Still, it was the starting unit that spearheaded the rally from a 15-point halftime deficit and got the Rams back in the game. Coach Jim Baron went longer than he has gone all season without making a substitution -- the first 7 minutes and 43 seconds after the half -- as his team rallied from a 49-34 deficit at the break.

The unit of Will Martell, Kahiem Seawright, Lamonte Ulmer, Jimmy Baron and Marquis Jones outscored the Bonnies 22-7 in that time. The team had pulled into a tie at 56-56 before Cothran and James came off the bench to replaced Baron and Martell. As it was, Jones, the point guard, played the entire second half and finished with 9 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Jones had one assist and two turnovers in the first half. He had five assists and one turnover after halftime. Jones now has 103 assists, the first sophomore to crack the 100 barrier since Howard Smith. Seawright played all but one minute and Baron all but two minutes of the second half, in which URI scored 53 points, the most it has had in the second half all season.

Well, looks like the Rams avoided disaster in this one after being down to a not so good St. Bonaventure team by 15 at halftime. The Bonnies are just 12-11 on the season and a loss to them at home would have been devastating. The defense for URI in this one was again lackluster to say the least. The Bonnies are 247th in offensive efficiency, yet they still were able to score 80 points and shoot nearly 50% from the floor. However, a win is a win and URI will take this one and can now look forward to their matchup with St. Louis on Saturday. St. Louis is also a poor offensive team, but is decent on defense, so don't be surprised if they give URI trouble.

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