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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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February 26, 2008
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Rhode Island College Men’s Basketball Score Report |
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Providence, RI |
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The 2008 Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament |
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1 |
2 |
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Final |
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#7
Plymouth State (8-18)
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37
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21
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58
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#2
Rhode Island College (20-6)
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33
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44
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77
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BAILEY & FORTES LEAD RIC TO LEC SEMIFINALS
Anchormen Overcome Nine-Point Deficit to Win by 19 |
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Providence, RI—Junior guard
Bobby Bailey (Fall River, MA) and freshman backcourt mate
Anthony Fortes (East Providence, RI) helped second-seeded Rhode
Island College eliminate seventh-seeded Plymouth State, 77-58, from
the 2008 Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in a
quarterfinal win. |
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Bailey led five Anchormen in double figures with a
16-point, seven-rebound performance. Fortes notched his first
collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Junior guard
Tirrell Hill (Bronx, NY), freshman guard Antone Gray
(Providence, RI) and junior Cameron Stewart (Newport, RI)
contributed, 11, 11 and 10 points, respectively. |
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RIC (20-6) advances to the semifinals for fourth
consecutive season and will battle longtime rival, third-seeded
Keene State, at top-seeded and tourney host UMass Dartmouth, on
Friday, Feb. 29 at 6 p.m. |
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The Anchormen were sluggish in the first half as
Plymouth State led by four, 37-33, at the break. RIC shot just 37
percent (13-for-35) from the field and struggled mightily from
three-point land with a 13 percent (2-for-15) performance through
the first 20 minutes. |
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The Panthers (8-18) went on a 5-0 run to open the
second stanza to build a nine-point lead, 42-33. Rhode Island
College responded with a 15-4 run to take the lead for good, capped
by two Fortes’ free throws with 9:16 left in the game. Plymouth
State never recovered as the Anchormen stepped on the gas,
ballooning the lead to a game-high 21-points with under a minute
left. |
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Sophomore guard Jason O’Keefe (Everett, MA)
led Plymouth State with 13 points, while sophomore forward Mike
Chergey (Bow, NH) logged 11. |
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Junior Guard Bobby Bailey |
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Freshman Guard Anthony Fortes |
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-end- |