LATE WEDNESDAY: URI loses seventh in a row; coach laments ‘no culture’

URI’s Tyson Brown goes up for a shot over George Mason’s Malik Henry on Wednesday night at the Ryan Center.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The losing streak that has left Rhode Island basketball disappointed, frustrated and angry turned to soul-searching on Wednesday night. After a 69-51 loss to George Mason pushed the slide to seven games and 12 of the last 14, head coach Archie Miller laid it all bare.

“We just have some guys that, quite frankly, at the end of the day, don’t belong out there right now at this time of year — whether they belong here period,” Miller said.

“At the end of the day, you have to represent a very proud program that has given a lot to you, that supports the hell out of you, that’s craving something to be like, ‘Damn, look at those guys.’ And we’re not giving it to them. At the end of the day, that’s got to change. I’m not blaming that on the players. I just blame it on myself. It’s got to change.”

George Mason was without leading scorer Keyshawn Hall but still had little trouble with the home team. After scoring 91 points in Saturday’s loss to Saint Louis, the Rams encountered significantly more resistance from the Patriots and didn’t handle it well. They shot 29% from the field and made just 4 of 19 3point attempts. They had seven assists and 10 turnovers.

The defense was perhaps a bit better than it has been at several points during the losing skid, but it faded when the Rams slipped into down-and-out mode. George Mason had a nine-point lead at halftime, then opened the second half with eight straight points, including a dunk when the Rams didn’t get back on defense after a missed shot. It was an uphill battle from there.

George Mason’s Darius Maddox led