FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 3, 2004

Rhode Island College
2003-04 Men’s Basketball Season Summary

11-15 Overall; 7-7 (fifth place) in the Little East Conference

Providence, RI--Head Coach Michael Kelly’s team finished the 2003-04 season with an 11-15 overall record and a 7-7 (fifth place) mark in the Little East Conference. RIC’s season was ended with a 98-84 loss at Western Connecticut in the opening round of the 2004 LEC Tournament on Feb. 24.

The Anchormen’s fifth-place LEC finish is the team's highest since the 1997-98 squad concluded the season in fourth-place. Also, RIC won a school-record five consecutive home conference games during the season. The previous mark was four straight home LEC victories set by the 1989-90 squad.

Senior guard Kamran Alemdar (Stockholm, Sweden) closed out his collegiate career having played two seasons at RIC. As an Anchorman he played in 52 career games, starting 50 of them. Prior to transferring into RIC, Alemdar starred for two seasons at Roger Williams University, earning First Team All-Commonwealth Coast Conference honors as a sophomore in 2001-02. In his four-year college career, he totaled 1,483 points, 477 rebounds, 171 assists, 68 blocks and 106 steals.

As a senior in 2003-04, he was named Second Team All-Little East Conference. He played in 26 games, starting 25 of them. He averaged a team-high 14.3 points, while also contributing 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Alemdar registered season-highs of 25 points vs. UMass-Dartmouth on Feb. 11, seven rebounds twice, four assists on several occasions, four steals vs. Southern Maine on Feb. 14 and three blocks vs. UMass-Boston on Feb. 7.

As a junior in 2002-03, Alemdar played in 26 games, starting 25 of them. He averaged 13.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He registered season-highs of 29 points vs. Western Connecticut, seven rebounds on three separate occasions, five assists vs. Bridgewater and three steals twice. Alemdar connected on a season-high seven three-pointers, going 7-10, vs. Western Connecticut.

He is a communications major and a 1999 graduate of Vasalunds Gymnasiet.

Senior guard Lester Carter (Boston, MA) closed out his career having played two seasons at RIC. Prior to transferring into RIC, he starred for two seasons at Roxbury Community College. As an Anchorman, he excelled as the squad's sixth man coming off of the bench. He played in 52 career games, starting 12 of them, with 472 career points, 220 rebounds, 50 assists and 52 steals.

As a senior in 2003-04, Carter played 26 games, starting five of them. He averaged 6.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Carter registered season-highs of 12 points vs. Eastern Connecticut on Dec. 13, eight rebounds vs. Western Connecticut on Feb. 24, three assists twice and four steals vs. Plymouth State on Jan. 24.

As a junior in 2002-03, Carter played in 26 games, starting seven of them. He averaged 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Carter recorded season-highs of 22 points vs. Salve Regina on Feb. 5, ten rebounds vs. Southern Maine on Feb. 15, five assists vs. Johnson and Wales on Dec. 10 and three steals vs. Southern Maine on Jan. 14. Carter made a season-high 12 free throws, making 12-14, against Salve Regina.

He is a philosophy major and a 1999 graduate of John D. O’Bryant High School.

Junior forward Jason Harris (Bedford, MA) played in 16 games, starting three of them. He averaged 8.9 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. Harris registered season-highs of 21 points vs. Southern Maine on Jan. 13, 12 rebounds vs. Plymouth State on Jan. 22, three assists vs. Western Connecticut on Feb. 17 and three steals vs. UMass-Dartmouth on Feb. 11.

Sophomore guard K.C. Grandfield (Dartmouth, MA) missed 11 games with a wrist injury. He played in 15 games, starting 11 of them. Grandfield averaged 4.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and a team-high 3.8 assists per game. He registered season-highs of 21 points vs. Bridgewater St. on Jan. 8, five rebounds vs. Roger Williams on Dec. 4, eight assists vs. UMass-Boston on Jan. 10 and three steals vs. St. Joseph’s-Long Island on Dec. 28.

Sophomore forward Brendan Mullen (Fairhaven, MA) played in 17 games, starting three of them. He averaged 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. Mullen registered season-highs of five points twice, four rebounds vs. Johnson & Wales on Dec. 9 and two assists vs. UMass-Boston on Jan. 10.

Sophomore guard Kevin Payette (Woonsocket, RI) played in 24 games, starting 13 of them. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Payette registered season-highs of 15 points vs. UMass-Dartmouth on Jan. 20, seven rebounds vs. UMass-Dartmouth on Jan. 20 and six assists vs. UMass-Boston on Feb. 7.

Sophomore forward Brian Stanko (Swansea, MA) played in 26 games, starting 24 of them. He was third in scoring, averaging 9.7 points, while also contributing 4.2 rebounds per game. Stanko registered season-highs of 18 points vs. Western Connecticut on Feb. 24, 11 rebounds vs. Johnson & Wales on Dec. 9, four assists vs. Salve Regina on Feb. 3 and three steals vs. UMass-Dartmouth on Feb. 11.

Sophomore guard Jared Starnino (Providence, RI) played in nine games. He averaged 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. He registered season-highs of four points and three rebounds vs. Davidson on Nov. 29.

Freshman guard Kinsey Durgin (Greenwood, ME) played in 26 games, starting 11 of them. Durgin assumed the starting point guard duties while K.C. Grandfield was injured. He averaged 6.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He registered season-highs of 18 points vs. UMass-Boston on Feb. 7, five rebounds twice, six assists vs. Plymouth State on Jan. 24 and five steals vs. UMass-Dartmouth on Feb. 11.

Freshman center Anthony Pierlioni (Plainville, CT) played in 21 games. He averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. He registered season-highs of ten points twice, six rebounds vs. Keene State on Jan. 17, two assists vs. Eastern Connecticut on Dec. 13 and two blocks vs. Kean University on Dec. 27.

Freshman guard Amde Tegbaru (Stockholm, Sweden) played in 19 games. He averaged 2.5 points per game and 0.5 rebounds per game. He registered season-highs of nine points vs. Keene State on Jan. 17 and three rebounds vs. St. Joseph’s-Long Island on Dec. 28.

Freshman forward John Weir (Danbury, CT) played in 22 games. He averaged 2.0 points, 2.4 rebounds per game and was second on the team with 15 blocks. He registered season-highs of ten points vs. Eastern Connecticut on Dec. 13, seven rebounds vs. Newbury on Dec. 11 and three blocks vs. Kean University on Dec. 27.

Freshman guard Kamari Williams (Springfield, MA) was named the Little East Conference's Rookie of the Year. Williams played in 26 games, starting 12 of them. He was second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game, and contributed a team-high 88 assists and 41 steals. Williams registered season-highs of 27 points vs. Wheaton on Nov. 22, six rebounds vs. Kean University on Dec. 27, eight assists twice and five steals vs. Western Connecticut on Feb. 24. Williams earned Little East Rookie of the Week honors fives times this winter.

Freshman center Kevin Zalucki (Enfield, CT) played in 26 games, starting 23 of them. He averaged 7.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-best 1.4 blocks per game. Zalucki registered season-highs of 21 points vs. Eastern Nazarene on Nov. 25, 14 rebounds vs. Eastern Connecticut on Dec. 13, three assists vs. Eastern Connecticut on Dec. 13, three steals vs. Plymouth State Jan. 22 and four blocks vs. Eastern Connecticut on Dec. 13.