SOUTH KINGSTOWN — URI has had more than its share of ups and downs this season, but there has been at least one constant. Unlike the second half of last year, the Rams have played well in the Ryan Center. They have used their home court to their advantage.

The Rams (14-7, 3-3 in the Atlantic 10) will be out to continue that pattern this afternoon when they host La Salle (12-7, 3-2) in a game that will be telecast by Cox Sports Channel.

The 2 o’clock contest is the second game of a doubleheader. The URI women (9-11, 2-3) will meet Saint Joseph’s (9-11, 1-4) at 11:30 a.m.

The season has taken a turn in the right direction for the Rhody men in the last week, with two good victories, one in double overtime at George Washington and then an eight-point decision over Temple Wednesday.

In the case of the GW game, the victory was important because the Rams pulled out a thriller, the type of game that has accounted for six of their seven losses. In the case of the Temple contest, the win was pivotal because it was achieved, in part, by taking advantage of their home court.

Until this year, the Ryan Center had not been a great place for the Rams in A-10 competition. URI is 68-35 overall, a 66-percent winning percentage, in the seven years the building has been open. But the team is only 30-22, 57.7 percent, in A-10 play.

It was the inability to win at the Ryan Center that was pivotal in last year’s late-season collapse. After a great start in which URI won its first 11 games at The Pharm, as some have taken to calling it (as in CVS Caremark Pharmacy), the Rams lost four in a row in their home building to end the season.

As it was, the 11-4 Ryan record equaled the team’s best season in the building. Still, it was a disappointment considering the ending.

It will be a disappointment if the team cannot set a record this season. Entering today’s game, URI is 8-1 in the Ryan Center, the loss a two-pointer to nationally ranked Xavier.

The Rams have played well in their building, with an average winning margin of 81-66. They have done it despite smaller crowds than expected because of the weather. Each of the three A-10 games thus far — Fordham, Xavier and Temple — has been played on a storm day, when traveling was difficult. That badly cut back on game-day sales, school officials report. It has not yet affected the team, but it has cost the athletic department badly needed revenue.

However, the forecast doesn’t call for a storm today. The Rams will need all the support they can muster because La Salle is one team that has not been bothered by playing on the road.

This will surprise many, but the Explorers are the second-best road team in the A-10 in conference play over the last two years. They have won eight of their last 11 conference games away from home. Only Xavier, which is 9-2, is better. This season, the Explorers are 2-1 away from home, with victories at Charlotte and Massachusetts and a loss at Xavier.

La Salle has a big, physical team. It is excellent inside and on the boards, boosted by 6-foot-9 Vernon Goodridge, a transfer from Mississippi State. The offense has good balance, led by junior Rodney Green, who is averaging 16 points and has developed into one of the A-10’s top talents. The team’s weakest area is protecting the ball. It is last in the A-10 in turnover margin.

URI hopes to be at full strength for the game. Junior guard Keith Cothran, the team’s second-leading scorer, has missed the last three games with a knee injury. He has been practicing for the last two days. The team hopes he will be ready to go today.

pkenyon@projo.com