Wed Jan 2 11:09:39 2008

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23rd-ranked Rams continue fast start against visiting Knights

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Kingston, RI (Sports Network) - The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights will be the opponent this evening for the 23rd-ranked Rhode Island Rams, who are off to an outstanding start.

The same cannot be said for Fairleigh Dickinson, as the squad owns a 4-6 overall record that includes a 1-4 mark in true road games. The Knights actually carried a three-game win streak into Sunday's clash with Charlotte, but that tilt resulted in a 65-59 defeat.

As for Rhode Island, it owns a stellar 13-1 record, the best start for the program since the 1946-47 season. The Rams are riding an eight-game win streak that includes an 85-80 decision over Georgia Southern on Saturday. The lone loss came against Boston College on the road by six points back on November 21st.

Rhode Island has won all three of its previous meetings with Fairleigh Dickinson, including a 115-66 romp over the Knights in 1996.

There is not a single reserve for Fairleigh Dickinson averaging more than 2.8 ppg, so the team obviously relies heavily on its starters to carry the load at the offensive end of the court. The Knights are led by Sean Baptiste, who is tops with 18.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg. Manny Ubilla is second in scoring with 18.3 ppg, and he has dished out 50 assists. Bernell Murray adds 10.9 ppg to the mix, but his 39.2 percent shooting from the floor leaves much to be desired. FDU is posting 74.2 ppg while allowing 80.7 ppg to the opposition. In the loss to Charlotte last time out, the Knights connected on only 29.7 percent of their field goal attempts, and they finished with a mere eight assists. They were outrebounded by a 53-43 margin as well. Ubilla tallied 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss, but he did turn the ball over five times.

Will Daniels poured in a season-high 28 points and secured eight rebounds to lead Rhode Island to the five-point victory over Georgia Southern in the championship game of the Flint Hills Tournament on Saturday. The Rams got 13 points from Kahiem Seawright as well as 11 points apiece from Parfait Bitee and Lamonte Ulmer. In 21 minutes of play off the bench, Ulmer also managed to pull down 10 rebounds for the Rams, who got 10 points from Jimmy Baron. Overall this season, Daniels is netting 18.9 ppg to go along with 7.1 rpg. He has also blocked 18 shots, proof of his versatility. Baron has proven to be a strong second scoring option, as he is posting 15.2 ppg on the strength of his 44.2 percent shooting from three-point range and 95 percent efficiency from the foul line. Rhode Island is netting 82.9 ppg while allowing 69.9 ppg to the opposition.