URI Runs Past Iona 88-75, Advance in NIT
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URI Runs Past Iona 88-75, Advance in NIT
See the five takeaways slideshow below
The Rams trailed Iona 15-13 with 13:35 left in the first half, but a Jared Terrell layup tied the game and sparked the Rams to an 11-0 run to put them up 24-15 with 11 minutes to play. URI would take a 51-39 lead into the locker room.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn the second half, Iona made an early run and got as close as nine, 59-50, with 11 minutes to play but they would get no closer. The Rams would open up an 18 point lead and cruise to the victory.
E.C. Matthews and Jared Terrell both netted 18 points for URI while Biggie Minnis poured in 13 points off the bench.
A.J. English the Iona, and all scorers, with a game high 28 points while teammate David Laury poured in 26 to lead the Gaels.
The Rams next tournament game will be on Sunday, March 22 when they travel to California to take onthe Stanford Cardinal. An official time not been determined yet. The game will be televised on one of the ESPN networks.
For a further look at the Rams win, see the five takeaways slideshow below.
Five Takeaways From the Rams 88-75 Win Over Iona
Experimental Rules
For the NIT Tournament, the NCAA has made two rule changes for experimental purposes and in the interest of speeding up play.
The biggest change is in the shot clock which went from 35 seconds to 30 seconds. This change was made specifically in the interest of speeding up play and the results were obvious during the URI game. There was alot of action right away because both teams needed to start their offense almost immediately upon crossing the half court line.
I personally liked this change and hope it sticks.
The second change was the restricted area arc, moving it from three feet to four feet in hopes of eliminating some of the contact. This is s a rule change that will need to be watched over time to see the result. Not sure seeing it in one game gives a definite answer one way or the other as far as working and not working.
Both rule changes will be interesting to watch going forward in the NIT tournament.
Biggie Minnis
Senior Biggie Minnis gave URI a solid effort off the bench in potentially his last home game. Minnis poured in 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from the free throw line.
This was Minnis first game in double-figures since January 3.
Minnis also grabbed six rebounds, dished out three assists and had one steal for URI.
Jared Terrell
Jared Terrell had a big bounce back game in the Rams first round NIT game on national TV (ESPNU) after struggling a bit in URI's previous six games, not reaching double figures in any of them.
Against Iona, Terrell poured in 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
Terrell also grabbed three rebounds in the game.
As the Rams begin what they hope is a long NIT run, having Jared Terrell back on track is a very good sign.
23 Wins
This NIT win gives URI an overall record of 23-9 overall and two post season wins. The win against George Washington in the A-10 Tournament and now this one over Iona.
If you need any proof that head coach Dan Hurley is building a championship program, just look at the 23 (and counting) wins this season.
To further put that in perspective, Hurley and the Rams only had 22 wins combined in his first two seasons as coach
.
E.C. Matthews
E.C. Matthews co-led the Rams with 18 points in the game on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
Matthews has reached double-figures in nine straight games for URI and had at least 16 points in all nine of those games.
Matthews also grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists, had two steals and had one blocked shot in the game.
E.C. Matthews looks poised to take URI on a deep NIT run.
