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KINGSTON, R.I. -- Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley thought the key to his players making shots was the way they selected them.Im not sure we took any bad shots, he said Monday night after the 21st-ranked Rams beat Marist 107-65 in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament.I just think these guys really enjoy playing together, Hurley added after URI shot 56 percent from the field -- including 12 of 21 from 3-point range. I dont think they want to let each other down by being a pig or being selfish, because they all care about one another.E.C. Matthews scored 22 points for the Rams (2-0), shooting 8 of 10 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Hassan Martin had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Kuran Iverson and Jared Terrell scored 14 apiece for Rhode Island in its first appearance in The Associated Press Top 25 since 2007-08.Matthews said the players know they dont have to take a shot if its not there.Playing with great guards and great forwards, youve just got to rotate the ball, he said.Khallid Hart scored 19 points and Brian Parker had 18 for Marist (0-2).The Red Foxes scored the first five points of the game and led 7-2 before URI reeled off 16 in a row. Rhode Island scored six of the last seven points in the first half to open a 25-point lead at the break and then added the first five points of the second.BIG PICTUREMarist: The Red Foxes opened the season with back-to-back games against ranked teams, losing to No. 1 Duke in their opener on Friday.Rhode Island: This is the easy part for the Rams, who beat Dartmouth by 23 in the opener. Its all a warmup for No. 24 Cincinnati, followed by either Penn State or Duke, in the Tipoff Tourneys championship rounds at Mohegan Sun Casino.POLL IMPLICATIONSURI moved up two spots in The Associated Press Top 25 this week after coasting to a season-opening, 84-61 victory over Dartmouth. But the Rams will have to earn their spot in next weeks rankings, with games against No. 24 Cincinnati and then either Penn State or No. 1 Duke on the final day of the tournament.BAD STARTSIts the second time in as many games that URI started slowly before coasting to victory. Dartmouth led 12-11 with 5 minutes gone in the opener before the Rams pulled away.Minus a slow, kind of sluggish defensive start, I thought we hung in there, Hurley said. We got on the first group about their start. We didnt like it against Dartmouth. We cant continue to dig holes for ourselves.STATSURI shot 57 percent from 3-point range. The Rams had 21 assists to seven for Marist, and outrebounded the Red Foxes 43-21.That was one of our goals, Hurley said. Not just to win the glass, but to dominate the glass.RESTING UPHurley used his bench in the second half, and no starter played more than 25 minutes. In all, 13 players saw the floor for the Rams, and all but one scored -- Mike Layssard, who did have three rebounds and an assist in 6 minutes. Eric Dadika and Will Leviton each made a basket after checking in for the final 2 minutes of the game.Hurley said he wants his starters playing 30 minutes or more when the competition gets tougher.We wanted to build them up, he said. Going into the weekend, were going to need these guys in the 30s.UP NEXTMarist: Hosts Vermont on Wednesday night.Rhode Island: Plays Brown in Kingston on Wednesday in the second of four games in the Hall of Fame tournament. . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. NEW YORK -- There may not be a team in the NHL that needs a win more than the New York Islanders. A desperate Islanders team is going to meet an angry but wounded opponent Friday night, when the Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Barclays Center for the second meeting this season between the Metropolitan Division rivals.The Islanders (5-8-3), who reached the second round of the playoffs last spring for the first time since 1993, will enter Friday with the fewest points in the Eastern Conference. New York has lost three straight (0-2-1) and six of seven (1-3-3) this month.In the Islanders most recent game, a 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a rapidly emptying crowd of 12,498 chanted for the firing of head coach Jack Capuano, who appeared to be making a case to stay by using some variation of its on me three times during his postgame press conference.I have to find the right combinations for us to find some offense, said Capuano, whose team is 2-8-3 when scoring three goals or fewer. Weve been able to do it in the past. I have faith in myself and our coaching staff to figure it out. But we have to find a way to get some offense.Capuano tinkered with the top line during practice Thursday, when center and captain John Tavares was flanked by Ryan Strome and Josh Bailey. Tavares has a team-high five goals this season while Strome and Bailey have scored twice apiece.The new-look Islanders will get quite a challenge Friday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins (10-4-2), who suffered their worst loss in almost six years in falling to the Washington Capitals, 7-1, on Wednesday.We were embarrassed out there tonight, all of us, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said Wednessday night.dddddddddddd. Its humbling when you go through it. My hope is that we learn from it and make sure it doesnt happen again.Pittsburgh last lost by at least six goals on Feb. 2, 2011, when the Islanders routed the Penguins 9-3 at Nassau Coliseum.Our team as a group tonight, we werent ready to play, Sullivan said. And we can search for solutions tactically, but sometimes this game is more about will than it is about skill.Not only did the Penguins lose the game, but they potentially lost two key forwards for Fridays game.Rugged wingers Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz could both miss the game. Both are day-to-day, with Hornqvist dealing with a concussion and Kunitz dealing with a lower-body injury. Their availability wont be determined until Fridays morning skate.The Penguins also waived Tom Sestito on Wednesday in order to give themselves flexibility should they need to make a call-up or two on Friday afternoon.The Islanders have had an uncanny knack this month for running into teams coming off lopsided losses. Of New Yorks six losses in November, five have come against a team that lost its preceding game by more than two goals.Im sure theyll be well-prepared no matter what the circumstance, Tavares told Newsday following practice on Thursday.The Penguins won the first game of the season between the teams on Oct. 27, when they beat the Islander 4-2 at PPG Paints Arena. The game Friday marks the first of two trips to Barclays Center this month for Pittsburgh, which visits again Nov. 30. The season series concludes March 24 in Pittsburgh. ' ' '
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