KINGSTON, R.I. - La Salle cut the Rhode Island lead to just five late in the second half but the host Rams held off the Explorers to capture a 73-62 victory at the Ryan Center on Saturday. Junior Jordan Price had 20 points to pace the Blue and Gold and sophomore Johnnie Shuler had a career-high 16 points. 
 
Price shot 8-for-13 from the field while playing all 40 minutes, while Shuler hit five three-pointers for the second straight game. He also played all 40 minutes.
 
Rhode Island (11-7, 3-2 A-10), picked to finish second in the A-10 preseason poll, was led by Jarvis Garrett's 19 points. Hassan Martin added 15 on 7-for-7 shooting and Kuran Iverson had 12 points and 12 boards.
 
La Salle, playing shorthanded with seven scholarship players and just one over 6-for-6, got into foul trouble for the second straight game. Tony Washington, the Explorers' only big man, was limited to only 13 minutes and eventually fouled out.
 
Freshman Karl Harris was a bright spot, scoring a career-high nine points in 30 minutes of action.
 
The Rams slowly built a double-digit lead in the first half and led 31-22 at intermission. The advantage reached 13 points with 14:22 remaining before the Explorers chipped away.
 
A 17-9 run, with nine points coming from Shuler, over the next seven minutes got the Blue and Gold back in the game and the visitors trailed 51-46 with 7:27 to go.
 
But URI answered back with a 12-3 spurt to put the game away.
 
La Salle (5-10, 1-4 A-10) will play Temple on Wednesday at 7 PM in the first half of the Big 5 Doubleheader at the Palestra. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.