Barron leads Rhode Island to 14-1 start

Jimmy Baron scored 22 points to lead five Rhode Island players in double figures and the 23rd-ranked Rams defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 94-63 on Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to nine games.

Rhode Island (14-1) is off to its best start since 1946-47, and remains undefeated at home this season.

Manny Ubilla of Fairleigh Dickinson (4-7) set a Ryan Center record with a career-high 39 points, including going 8-of-15 from 3-point range.

Lamonte Ulmer was 6-for-6 from the field and added 13 points and Kahiem Seawright had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Rams, who had their highest point total of the season.

Senior forward Will Daniels, Rhode Island's leading scorer, finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals.

The Rams also got big contributions from their bench, with six reserves combining for 42 points.

Baron was 6-of-8 from behind the 3-point line, opening the game with a 3 and hitting another with about 10 seconds left in the first half to give the Rams a 44-31 lead.

The game was Rhode Island's last against a nonconference opponent. The Rams play at No. 20 Dayton next Wednesday.

The Knights took advantage of Rhode Island's 5-of-15 start from the field to take an early lead, going up by five points about four minutes into the game. But the Rams went ahead 21-19 at 8:37 in the first half on a layup from Seawright off a feed by Keith Cothran. They held the lead the rest of the game, outscoring Fairleigh Dickinson 50-32 in the second half.

It was the first time since December 2003 that Rhode Island had defeated an opponent by more than 30 points.

Rhode Island jumped two spots in this week's Associated Press poll after wins last weekend at the Islander Invitational in Corpus Christi, Texas. It's the first time since November 1998 that the Rams have been ranked.