A Dominant Berry Denies Dayton of Solice
Heading into a game against a somewhat struggling Dayton Flyer team, the Rhode Island Rams were walking into a lion's den. The packed Dayton Arena is one of the best arenas and crowds in the country. Hence why the NCAA hosts their First Four games in UD arena. With all of these circumstances stacked against the visiting team, little Rhody found a way to prosper while playing only 7 scholarship athletes.
From the very start of the game, Rhode Island was shooting daggers from all over the court as 3's were continually rained in by Kuran Iverson, Jarvis Garrett, Jared Terrell, and Four McGlynn. However, foul trouble became an issue for the Rams throughout the game, in particular with their starting front court, consisting of Iverson and Earl Watson.
With no other option to turn to, Dan Hurley called in Andre Berry, a sophomore from West Hempstead, New York. The thought of a reserve player who played extremely sparingly for URI during the season having an impact in this contest made most spectators chuckle like Chuck E. Cheese. In all honestly, I knew what Berry was capable of from the moment that he was brought in to URI. He was a big body who had soft hands who could score adeptly from either the post or hit mid-range jumpers from nearly anywhere. Using his hands that appeared to be as soft as the Michelin man, Berry went to work against the Flyers. Continuously carving out space in the paint with his wide frame and pouncing on rebounds, Berry scored an essential 15 points in 13 minutes of play. He was literally UNSTOPPABLE. Going 7 for 7 from the field, the New York native never even cracked a smile during the game. He was just there to dominate and show the Flyers fan base how to ball.
A good key to winning a basketball game of this magnitude is to never give up the lead. In this case, Rhode Island never gave up the lead all day, mostly leading by double-digits the whole time. Despite Dayton's full court press having an extensive impact, URI held their nerve. After not trailing for the entire Saturday afternoon, Four McGlynn iced the game away with his free throw shooting and everyone in UD arena and everyone watching on ESPN2 were stunned. Obviously, I was jumping up and down in the lounge of Aldrich Hall as I watched this insane upset take place. A 7-8 team (URI) in the A10 just beat the kings of the conference (12-3 conference record for Dayton) in their own arena. Even the weird kids in UD arena who paint their faces blue and red and wear surgical masks and latex gloves for some strange, unknown reason, had no words to utter.
And on this last Saturday of February, the entire nation watched Andre Berry grow up. Based on their immediate exit out of the NCAA tournament, rumor has it that Dayton could not do anything but see this face in their nightmares following their loss at home to URI.
