Jan. 31, 2009
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA) drained 22 points and the Explorers held Rhode Island's Jimmy Baron to a season-low six points, but the Rams (15-7, 4-3 A-10) outlasted the Explorers 98-88 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Kingston, R.I.
The Explorers (12-8, 3-3 A-10) trailed 46-35 at the half but scored 45 second-half points to erase the deficit and push the game to overtime. Green swished the first shot of the extra period, but the Rams' Delroy James answered with a 3-pointer just 22 seconds later to put the home squad on top for good.
Paul Johnson (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga) cut a 6-point deficit to four with 1:55 remaining, but that was the closest the Explorers would get down the stretch. James hit another trey at 1:33 to push the score to what proved to be an insurmountable 93-86.
In addition to Green, five other Explorers hit double figures including Ruben Guillandeaux (15), Yves Mekongo Mbala (14), Kimmani Barrett (12), Jerrell Williams (12) and Vernon Goodridge (11).
Despite Baron's season low, the Rams saw five players score in double figures with two players hitting the 20 mark. Kahiem Seawright scored 25 on 8-11 shooting and James came off the bench to score 22 with three treys.
The Explorers jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first half but the Rams responded with an 11-0 run to control the first half. The Rams clung to a double-digit lead throughout the first and second stanzas before an Explorer run capped by a Green 3-pointer to put the score at 63-60 with 9:04 left in regulation. The Rams once again pushed the lead to as many as 11 at the 3:03 mark before the Explorers closed out regulation with an 11-0 run to knot the score at 80-all to force overtime. Barrett knocked down a trey with 22 seconds remaining to tie the game.
Despite the disadvantage throughout most of the game, the Explorers had better field goal, 3-point field goal and free throw percentages than the home squad. They shot 56.1 percent from the field to the Rams' 55.6 percent and also held a 55.6 percent to 44.4 percent advantage from behind the arc. The Explorers also led on the boards, outrebounding the Rams 34-29.
The Explorers return home on Wednesday, Feb. 4, as they host Dayton at 7:00 PM.
