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Men's Basketball
vs Late Night Madness
TBA
Providence College Athletics
Saturday, December 6
Providence, R.I.
2:00 PM
Providence College
66
vs
65
Rhode Island
Men's Basketball Defeats URI, 66-65, In Instant Classic
12/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GALLERY
Dec. 6, 2008
Box Score Vs. URI in PDF Format 
Providence, R.I. - The Providence College men's basketball team (6-3) beat in-state rival Rhode Island (6-3) by a score of 66-65 on Saturday, December 6 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Senior Geoff McDermott (New Rochelle, N.Y.) hit two free throws in the game's final minute to clinch the game for the Friars. Senior Weyinmi Efejuku (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) led Providence with game-highs of 21 points and eight rebounds.
The two rivals played to a draw in the game's first five minutes and URI led 11-10 at the 14:56 mark. A Marshon Brooks (Stone Mountain, Ga.) three-pointer gave the Friars a 17-16 lead at 13:47 and a Randall Hanke (New York, N.Y.) lay-in off a nifty feed from McDermott kept the Friars up, 25-24, with 8:09 to go in the half. A strong finish by Efejuku put PC up 36-34 with 2:19 to go in the stanza, but URI entered the half ahead, 39-38, behind 16 points from senior Jimmy Baron.
Both teams shot over 45 percent in the half, as URI hit 51.5 percent of its shots while PC was at 47.1. Efejuku led Providence with 15 first-half points and chipped in four rebounds. The largest lead for either team in the first half was only three.
URI opened the second half on a 6-0 run and took a 45-38 lead with 17:04 to go in the game. A Brooks fast-break layup cut the Rams lead to 47-44 at the 16:02 mark and the 6-5 swingman hit a three at 11:35 to move the Friars within two. A three-point play by Efejuku gave PC its first lead of the second half at 52-51, but URI quickly responded and led 59-56 with 5:42 to go in the game.
But Efejuku was having his best game of the season and he continued his hot shooting when it mattered, hitting a clutch three at 2:28 to tie the game, 61-61. With the Friars down 65-64 with 17.9 seconds left, McDermott hit his free throws to give the Friars a 66-65 advantage and PC denied URI on the team's final possession to clinch the victory for the Friars.
PC held the Rams to 36 percent shooting in the second half and played stifling defense on Baron, as the URI star point guard was held without a field goal in the final 17:03 of the game.
Brooks chipped in 14 points and five rebounds on 5-9 shooting and Jonathan Kale (Mattapan, Mass.) added 10 points and five boards.
Baron and Kahiem Seawright led the Rams with 18 points a piece. There were 18 lead changes in the game.
The Friars are off until Wednesday, December 17 when they take on Jackson State at 7:00 p.m. at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Tickets can be purchased by calling (401) 865-GOPC.
Players Mentioned
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Center
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Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward/Guard
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