Well, what can you say? The Flyer Faithful had an opportunity to bid farewell to four seniors in their last game at the Arena. They had a chance to say goodbye to Charlie Robinson, the long-time public address announcer being forced to retire after 29 years at the mike. And they had an opportunity to honor ten all-time Flyer greats at halftime. There was a little bit of everything, except a high quality basketball game.

In fitting tribute to one of his first recruiting classes, Oliver Purnell gave all four seniors the opportunity to start the basketball game. It was the first start of Matt Cooper’s career. Perhaps it was the emotion of the last game on the Arena court, or the change in the typical substitution pattern, but the Flyers got off to a very slow start. Rhode Island got easy looks out of transition and penetration, got numerous offensive rebounds, and the Flyers were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball. After seven minutes it was a tight game, and Rhode Island was averaging nearly a bucket a minute. From that point the defense tightened, and the Rams found it increasingly difficult to find a good shot. A couple of Yuanta Holland baskets, including a 17 foot jumper and a free throw, opened a 27-21 lead. The game turned shortly thereafter.

Tavorris Bell picked up a technical foul off the ball — his third foul of the half. Brooks Hall converted both free throws. Matt Cooper was fouled setting a solid screen for Edwin Young — who knocked down a three. The shot clearly seemed to come well after the whistle, but the officials counted the shot. Cooper made both free throws on the one-and-one. A Tony Stanley dunk after a Ram turnover extended the lead, which grew to 41-21 by the half.

The second half was more of the same. Cooper, Fitz, and walk-on Joe Ashburn saw significant playing time as the Flyers stretched the lead to as many as 39 points. Rhode Island scored just 21 points in a nearly 25 minute stretch from midway through the first half to the midpoint of the second half. From there the Rams closed the game on a run, narrowing the score to a closer-than-it-looked 77-51 final. Brooks Hall led the Flyers with 16 points, while Mark Ashman added 15 points and 6 rebounds.

With the victory, the Flyers clinched no worse than a tie for first in the A-10 West, and are assured of the #1 seed in the A10 tournament. With a win in one of the two final road games of the season — or a Xavier or George Washington loss — the Flyers will clinch first place outright. The Flyers look to cement a bid to the NCAA tournament as they close the regular season with games at Duquesne and Virginia Tech.