Last modified: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 12:24 AM EST URI spanks PC BY PETER GOBIS SUN CHRONICLE STAFF KINGSTON, R.I. - The Friars of Providence College are not going to win very many basketball games shooting as poorly as they did against the Rhode Island Rams Tuesday night, in a hostile environment such as the Ryan Center. "The fans were talking from the time that we got off the bus, before the game, in the warmups - it doesn't help," said Friar junior guard Jeff Xavier, who was not alone at being upset with his shooting touch in a 77-60 loss to the in-state rival Rams. Roll these numbers around - Geoff McDermott 1-for-8 from the floor; Weyinmi Efejuku 1-for-10 from the floor; Xavier 3-for-10, the Friars 6-for-26 from beyond the three-point arc. "Quick shots, bad shot selection, we weren't moving, we weren't running the plays - we played so bad," said McDermott as the Friars (5-2) tied the Rams just twice (at 7-7 and at 21-all during the first half) and held just one lead, at 24-21 after two-straight Xavier three-point field goals. Five Rhody Rams (9-1) entered into double figures scoring with Will Daniels (18 points, nine rebounds) and Kahiem Seawright (13 points, 10 rebounds) leading the way. "We play as a team. We knew that our defense would lead to our offense," said Daniels, as URI shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half. "Our offense wasn't always there, but we thought that our defense could carry us." The Friars certainly helped the Rhody cause. "You can't shoot 30 percent on the road, have just 10 assists and commit 19 turnovers and expect to win," said PC coach Tim Welsh. "It's hard enough to win on the road, maybe we got caught up in the atmosphere." As poorly as PC played at both ends of the floor (28 percent shooting, 10-for-36), the Friars trailed only 33-28 by intermission. But the Rams reeled off nine-straight points early in the second half (to take a 44-32 lead) and the Friars went into a serious funk. The Rams' Seawright jammed the ball, then Parfait Bitee nailed a three-pointer when the Friars failed to switch defensive assignments for a 59-50 lead. Daniels stole an ensuing PC pass on the next possession and went in for a slam dunk. Daniels followed with a baseline jumper after a Friar five-second violation on an inbounds pass, PC making just one shot from the floor over an eight-minute stretch in the final 10 minutes of the second half. "They contested a lot of shots too, but we couldn't make any shots," added McDermott, even though the Friars secured 19 offensive rebounds. PC totaled just 10 second chance points out of those situations. "When we did get offensive rebounds, we didn't finish," added Welsh. Jon Kale (11 points, nine rebounds), Brian McKenzie (12 points) and Dwain Williams (11 points) reached double figures for the Friars, who head to Philadelphia Thursday for a Big East-SEC Challenge Tournament game against South Carolina. "We were nonchalant with too many of our plays," added Welsh. "That's what upset me. They (URI) were more aggressive." The Rams, who average 80.8 points per game, held the Friars to 16 points below their average output thus far. In the first half, both McDermott (0-for-5) and Efejuku (0-for-3) each had just two points, the Friars just 3-for-11 from three-point range, having just four second chance points off 11 offensive rebounds. "When you don't score, that puts pressure on your defense," continued Welsh. "We'll miss some shots, that'll happen, but we didn't take good shots. We've got to have more from our veterans. They're not young kids, they'ge got to play better. "They (URI) played very hard on defense and were physical with our guards. We have to play extra attention to detail at both ends of the floor."