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Rowdy Rams

Rhode Island counting on Odom for more miracles

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Posted: Monday March 08, 1999 12:14 AM

Antonio Reynolds-Dean and URI were 50 seconds from a berth in the Final Four last year before Stanford rallied with 14 points win. AP

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) -- With the University of Rhode Island headed back to the NCAA tournament, one of the team's star players said the upcoming series is the stuff dreams are made of.

"The emotion is still buzzing around. I've never played in a game of such importance," said Lamar Odom, the 6-foot-10-inch first-year forward who leads the Rams in points, with 17.7 per game, and rebounds with 9.4 per game. "It's what every child dreams of late at night when you're on the playground counting down the clock and thinking you're Larry Bird or Magic Johnson."

On Sunday, the Rams learned they will head to Milwaukee to play North Carolina Charlotte on Friday in the Midwest Regional.

It was Odom's 25-foot jumper at the buzzer Saturday night that gave Rhode Island a 62-59 triumph over Temple in the championship game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament and propelled the Rams into the tournament for a school-record third consecutive year.

Without Odom's buzzer-beating bomb, 20-12 Rhode Island was destined for a berth in the NIT.

N.C.-Charlotte (22-10) was seeded fifth in the Midwest, while Rhode Island was seeded 12th -- a disappointment to some Rhody players.

"I guess a lot us were disappointed we didn't get a higher seed," said point guard Preston Murphy. "I thought we deserved a higher seed."

But Rhode Island players say they'll take N.C.-Charlotte seriously.

"[N.C.-Charlotte] beat Cincinnati twice, and Cincinnati spanked us, so that says they're a pretty good team," said Rhode Island senior forward Antonio Reynolds-Dean, referring to the Rams' 70-53 drubbing by Cincinnati.

N.C.-Charlotte is sparked by 6-foot-7-inch senior forward Galen Young, who leads the 49ers in scoring, with 14.4 points per game and rebounding, with 6.9 per game.

If Rhode Island gets past N.C.-Charlotte, it would play Sunday against the winner of Friday's first-round game between fourth-seeded Arizona and 13th-seeded Oklahoma.

A year ago, Rhode Island defeated eighth-seeded Murray State in the opening round at Oklahoma City before stunning top-seeded Kansas in a second-round game to advance to the Sweet 16. The Rams defeated Valparaiso and were 50 seconds from a berth in the Final Four before Stanford rallied with 14 points in the last 49 to take the win.

 

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