Rams Hang on in Overtime
KINGSTON, R.I. – Ray Giacoletti had never seen anything like it. The Utah head coach wasn’t referring to the photo finish of regulation in his team’s loss at Rhode Island on Saturday.
He was referring to the finish of overtime, when super sophomore big man Luke Nevill tried to go up for a shot in the closing seconds and appeared to have it swatted away by Rhode Island’s Darrell Harris. There was a good deal of contact as the whole play developed, but no foul was called – and that was exactly what set Giacoletti off for a good chunk of his post-game press conference.
“In 21 years of coaching, that was the most gutless… those three officials – D.J. (Carstensen), Mike (Eades) and George (Harry) – print it,” said Giacoletti, who later said one of the Rams apologized to him after the game. “If someone can raise their hand in here and tell me that (Nevill) didn’t get fouled, I’d call you a liar.”
It was an unfortunate end to a great game, though one the Utes trailed for most of. The Rams made their first six shots, four of which were from downtown, and it wasn’t until 5:06 in the second half that the game was ever tied. Shaun Green’s three-pointer as time expired in regulation went in to send the game to overtime, where the Utes had some momentum for the first couple of minutes.
The Rams got a big effort from Harris, a senior center who played 36 minutes and didn’t put up huge numbers. Where he came through was with his defense in making Nevill work for his 25 points and 16 rebounds. Harris had 11 points, four rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
“I was waiting for this game, because last year they beat us, and we wanted to come back and beat them,” said Harris.
You could tell this was two young teams playing, as there were a number of loose ball fouls called. There also wasn’t the best of defense, although that belonged a bit with the Utes, who entered the game ninth in the Mountain West in field goal percentage defense. That’s clearly an area for improvement with this team, one that has just one senior but clearly has the pieces to be a contender before long.
“We need to get better defensively in order for us to be able to win on the road and win at home, bottom line,” Giacoletti said. “Until we take more pride in that, we’re going to find ourselves in that situation. Until we have pride defensively, it’s not going to get any better.”
Said junior Johnnie Bryant, who had an uncharacteristic struggle from long range (4-13) en route to 18 points: “We just have to do the little things on defense.”
Besides getting the win in a close game, the Rams had a big positive on the stat sheet: 18 assists, eight turnovers. The Rams entered the game averaging almost 18 turnovers per game and have the worst turnover margin in the Atlantic 10 by a good margin. Freshman guard Keith Cothran made a nice contribution to that stat line with three assists and no turnovers in his first game after being cleared to play by the NCAA.
“We’ve been waiting to play him,” said Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron. “He gives us another athlete off the bench. He’s another piece to the puzzle of having athletic guards.”
The Rams, who now are off for the next week with final exams, were 11-24 on three-pointers. Jimmy Baron led the charge in going 5-8 from downtown en route to 21 points. He took just two shots in the first half, but got more opportunities in the second half.
Other Notable Games
UCLA 65, Texas A&M 62: The Bruins stay perfect by holding off the formidable Aggies.
Pittsburgh 70, Buffalo 67: The Panthers chose the right time to lead the game, as they trailed for all but a couple of minutes of it.
Texas Tech 98, Centenary 64: Bob Knight is almost there – two more wins to Dean Smith’s record.
Wichita State 83, Wyoming 69: Four straight Saturday road wins for the 7-0 Shockers. This also led the way in a 7-0 showing on Saturday for the Missouri Valley Conference.
Duke 69, George Mason 53: The Blue Devils continue to look solid, while the Patriots continue to win one, then lose one as they go to 4-4.
Gonzaga 97, Washington 77: That thud you heard was the Huskies’ winning streak as it ended in a bad way against the Bulldogs.
Wisconsin 70, Marquette 66: The Badgers take a close one against their in-state rivals.
Purdue 79, Missouri 62: The Boilermakers hand the Tigers the first loss under Mike Anderson, who has started off well in Columbia.
Washington State 66, Idaho 54: The Cougars’ excellent start continues, as Tony Bennett’s team is now 9-1 with this road win.
UNLV 58, Nevada 49: Nick Fazekas did play, and he played well in posting a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds. But only four came in the second half, when the Wolfpack rallied but fell short.
Indiana State 72, Butler 64: Butler’s first loss of the season is another highlight of the Valley’s big Saturday. That said, the fans in Terre Haute have to tell me something, though: if a team is “overrated”, as they chanted near the end of the game, why is a win over them worthy of rushing the court?
Southern Illinois 75, Western Kentucky 70: A great matchup goes to the visiting Salukis, who are now 7-1.
Creighton 73, Xavier 67: The Bluejays win a dandy matchup despite being out-rebounded 41-29.
Kansas State 83, North Dakota State 81: For a while, it looked like the Bison would pull off another one. But the Wildcats rallied to take a close one.
UCF 87, Florida Atlantic 65: The Knights are quietly undefeated at 6-0 heading into Tuesday’s game at Minnesota, their first road contest of the season.
Oregon 68, Nebraska 56: The Ducks stay undefeated as Bryce Taylor breaks out of a season-long shooting slump.
Drexel 81, Villanova 76: Don’t look now, but the Dragons have quietly won four straight. Frank Elegar posted his second double-double in three games.
Providence 94, Maine 79: A tale of two halves as the host Friars win going away. In the first half, Maine was 10-17 on three-pointers and had just two turnovers. The Friars took control in the second half, shutting down the Black Bears’ offense and getting their own offense in gear.
West Virginia 85, Duquesne 54: Rebuilding, you say? The Mountaineers are now 7-1 with several new players in key roles. The undermanned Dukes, on the other hand, have now lost six straight after winning their first two games.
VCU 68, Richmond 54: New head coach Anthony Grant is getting it done, as VCU wins the cross-town rivalry game to improve to 7-2.
Utah State 69, Utah Valley State 65: The Aggies are now 8-1, as Stew Morrill’s team just keeps on winning after key players move on.
San Diego 72, California 67: The Toreros take home the Golden Bear Classic from the hosts.
Davidson 79, Charlotte 51: The young Wildcats score a blowout win over the struggling 49ers to snap a three-game losing streak in the annual Hornet’s Nest game.
Arkansas-Little Rock 67, Minnesota 66: Another setback for the Golden Gophers.
Yale 70, American 53: A good win for the Bulldogs, just their second of the season but against an underrated Eagles team.
Wagner 72, Robert Morris 60: Wagner looked like the favorites last season before conference play started, then fell apart. They draw first blood this year, knocking off Robert Morris, which looks like the favorites this season.
