 Nick Winbush, shown here against Western Michigan, wrapped up his career Wednesday at Rhode Island. He was the only senior playing significant minutes over the final half of the season. File photo by Mike Smith. James made it into the URI record books by posting the first triple-double in program history. He added 11 rebounds and 10 assists to his 22-point effort.
Outerbridge also proved tough to stop, although in a way that few might have imagined. The 6-9 forward had not attempted a single shot from beyond the arc during the season. Nonetheless, he put up four treys against Miami and connected on all four while tying his career high of 18 points. Overall, the junior sank 7-of-8 shots from the field.
“I think they found something in that kid,” Miami head coach Charlie Coles said. “(He) was fantastic. We had a feeling he could shoot it. We didn’t know he could shoot threes, but his jump shot looks good.”
Richmond was the third Rams player to score in double figures, and he also thrived beyond the arc, making 4-of-7 treys while enjoying his best offensive production (16 points) in over a month.
Overall, Rhode Island connected on 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) of its shots outside the arc. The Rams were 27-of-57 (47.4 percent) from the field and added 10-of-11 at the charity stripe.
Miami made 21-of-53 (39.6 percent) during the contest and 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) on 3-point attempts. “We just missed a lot of shots,” Coles said.
Three MU players reached double figures, led by Julian Mavunga’s 15 points. Orlando Williams, battling illness and playing 27 minutes off the bench, contributed 14 points. Williams and Chris McHenry each hit three treys, although all of McHenry’s 11 points came in the final 5:19, after the game was out of reach.
Williams finished the season averaging 9.7 ppg. and reached double figures in five of his last six appearances. He had a career-high 26 against Bowling Green Feb. 26.
“He’s by far the toughest kid we have,” Coles said. “He finished (the season) strong, and that is what you look for in a ball player.”
The RedHawks didn’t struggle as badly as they did in a 10-point first half against Akron last week, but they didn’t mount the kind of second half comeback that forced the eventual MAC tourney champs into two overtimes, either.
Outerbridge broke an early 9-all tie with the first of his 3-point goals at 11:54. That gave URI a lead it would not relinquish. Miami trailed by one, 20-19, following a Williams trey at 7:21, but the Rams outscored MU 16-5 going into the break. James furnished six unanswered points over the final 2:25 to push the lead to 12-points, 36-24, as the teams headed to their locker rooms.
Miami put up 13 treys during the first half, connecting on three (23.3 percent). Rhode Island doubled that production with six threes (in 14 attempts, 42.9 percent). The difference accounted for most of URI’s advantage as it scored four more field goals (13-9) over the first 20 minutes.
A pair of James free throws at 16:41 of the second half moved the hosts out to a 16-point lead (44-28) before MU made a move. Williams netted eight points and Mavunga chipped in four from inside during a 12-2 Miami run. That narrowed the deficit to 46-40 with plenty of time (12:00) left.
Rhode Island, however, responded with an 18-3 run over the next 5:12 to effectively finish off the RedHawks. “We didn’t get a whole lot going once we got going,” Coles said
The Rams, who went 9-7 in A-10 play, improved their record to 20-13. Miami dropped a game below .500 for the campaign with a 15-16 mark (11-5 MAC). Following a five-game win streak in early February (mostly against MAC West foes), MU lost five of seven down the stretch, including two tournament losses.
After losing standout forward Antonio Ballard to injury in January, the RedHawks were left with one senior – Nick Winbush – playing significant minutes. Looking forward, Coles sees potential. “We’ve got some good players coming back, but need a spark.”
|
