Brian Woodward scored 26 points on 10-11 field goal shooting to lead four players in double figures as Rhode Island defeated Northeastern 95-82 in the season opener for both teams at Matthews Arena on Friday night.
Terrence Mack added 15 points for URI, Jamaal Wise had 14 and Lazare Adingono netted 13. Javorie Wilson led NU in his debut as a Husky with 25 points on 7-10 shooting, including 3-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Freshman point guard Jose Juan Barea had 18 points and Aaron Davis chipped in 12 off the bench.
The Huskies trimmed a 15-point deficit to three with a 12-0 run midway through the second half, but the Rams answered with a 17-8 run to build the lead back to a comfortable 12, 80-68, with 6:07 to go. Adingono was the catalyst of the URI surge, starting it with a pair of layups and then hitting two three-pointers for 10 points in the run.
NU, playing its first regular season game at Matthews Arena since the 1995-96 season, jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead before a crowd of 1505. Barea scored just 12 seconds into his career and added a three-pointer a little over a minute later. The Rams came right back, however, scoring 14 points in a row for a 14-8 lead with 15:08 left in the first half. NU continued the game of runs with an 8-1 spurt to reclaim the lead, 16-15, with 10:19 showing.
Wise made a layup with 9:32 to go in the first half to give the Rams a 17-16 edge, and URI never trailed again. NU fell behind by nine two different times, but Wilson made a three-pointer to make it a 40-34 deficit at the half.
The Huskies scored the first six points of the second half to pull even, 40-40, with 18:51 left in the game, but Woodward started a 7-0 run with a jumper and then a three-pointer as the Rams went up 47-40 with 16:48 showing. URI eventually extended the bulge to 15, 63-48, after a Woodward field goal with 11:37 left. Davis and Barea canned consecutive three-pointers to open a spirited 12-0 Husky run over the next 2:51, but NU could get no closer than three.
The Huskies debuted a new-look lineup as 53 of the team's 82 points were produced by players not on last season's roster. NU was without one of its veterans, Jamaar Walker, who sat out with a back injury. URI produced its most points in a regulation game since March 13, 1999, a span of 125 games.
VISITORS: Rhode Island 1-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 Smith, Howard * 2-4 0-0 1-2 1 3 4 0 5 12 3 0 5 34
20 Woodward, Brian * 10-11 2-2 4-7 2 3 5 1 26 1 2 0 2 22
24 Hellenga, Dustin * 3-9 1-5 2-2 0 0 0 5 9 1 3 0 1 26
32 Wise, Jamaal * 6-11 0-0 2-4 4 1 5 2 14 0 3 3 2 29
44 Clark, Jon * 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 4 0 2 0 0 10
01 Mack, Terrence 7-8 0-0 1-1 2 6 8 3 15 1 2 0 2 23
02 Harmon, Bamfield 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
05 Robinson, Dawan 1-5 0-3 2-4 0 2 2 4 4 0 4 0 0 14
11 Mello, Steve 2-4 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 2 5 1 1 0 0 18
13 Adingono, Lazare 5-7 2-2 1-4 1 5 6 4 13 0 1 0 0 19
22 Behrens, Tom 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
54 Holm, Chris 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
TEAM ........................................ 1 3 4 1
TOTALS 38-63 6-14 13-24 12 26 38 23 95 16 22 3 12 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 17-32 53.1% 2ndH: 21-31 67.7% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 60.3% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 2-7 28.6% 2ndH: 4-7 57.1% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 42.9% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 4-8 50.0% 2ndH: 9-16 56.3% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 54.2% 5
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HOME TEAM: Northeastern 0-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 Wilson, Javorie * 7-10 3-4 8-10 1 3 4 3 25 0 4 1 0 36
05 Barea, Jose Juan * 6-12 3-5 3-4 1 2 3 2 18 4 2 0 1 26
20 Martinez, Adrian * 0-2 0-1 2-2 0 0 0 5 2 1 3 0 0 14
32 Dunn, Jesse * 3-10 1-7 0-1 1 1 2 1 7 0 2 1 2 21
33 Robinson, Sylbrin * 2-3 1-1 3-4 3 3 6 5 8 1 1 0 1 22
12 Davis, Aaron 3-12 2-10 4-4 0 2 2 1 12 2 1 0 1 29
15 Keys, Derrell 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 2 3 0 1 14
30 Wright, Cornellius 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 4 2 0 3 0 1 16
41 Drain, Adam 1-3 0-2 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 15
52 Oliynyk, Gene 2-2 0-0 2-4 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 7
TEAM ........................................ 0 1 1
TOTALS 25-56 10-30 22-29 7 19 26 22 82 10 21 2 7 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 12-24 50.0% 2ndH: 13-32 40.6% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 44.6% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 3-11 27.3% 2ndH: 7-19 36.8% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 33.3% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 7-7 100.% 2ndH: 15-22 68.2% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 75.9% 5
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OFFICIALS: John Regan, Joe Pescitelli, Eric Britto
TECHNICAL FOULS:
Rhode Island - none
Northeastern - none
ATTENDANCE: 1505
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT1 OT2 OT3 OT4 TOTAL
Rhode Island 40 55 95
Northeastern 34 48 82
Season opener for both teams
