OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The private charter flight the URI basketball team took to meet Oklahoma State in the O’Reilly All-College Classic turned out to be even more memorable than expected.

It took 12 hours from the time the Rams left campus Friday to get to Oklahoma City, but the fact that they made it at all was due in large part to having a private charter.

“The only way we were going to get here,” said Mike Laprey, the school’s assistant athletic director for sports communications, “was to do it the way we did.”

Three Rhody players had final exams on Friday, the last finishing at 2 p.m. The team held practice in the morning for those who had completed exams. The plan had been for a 4 p.m. departure from Green Airport.

However, because of the snowstorm, the decision was made to leave as soon as everyone was available. The team left campus shortly after 2 o’clock.

By then, most flights out of Green had been canceled. Snow already was falling. It is very unlikely the Rams would have been able to leave had they been flying commercially. However, with their private charter (which was arranged with the help of ESPN, since that network was telecasting the All-College Classic last night), the Rams boarded their plane immediately after arriving at the terminal on airport road, from which private flights depart.

“We got on the plane right away, hoping to get out, but as soon as they would clear the runway it would get covered over again,” Laprey said.

After a while, it was decided to get everyone off the plane. Arrangements were made to go to the nearby Hampton Inn. URI has a promotional agreement with that chain, so rooms were made available to allow the players and coaches a chance to relax.

About 8 p.m., the team was notified that it could depart. The team quickly got to the airport and took off.

“It was a little bumpy for the first two minutes or so, but it was fine after that,” Laprey said.

The plane made stops for refueling in Richmond and Nashville, but everyone was comfortable.

“They served us more Fritos and chips than I’ve had since fourth grade,” Laprey said. “There was more room for the players (the charter seats 30). Will Martell and Jason Francis (the team’s two biggest players) took turns having the one seat in the exit row where they could extend their legs as far as they wanted without a problem.”

Marquis Jones is the best sleeper on the team, according to Laprey. He slept much of the way.

The team arrived in Oklahoma City at about 2 a.m. (Central Time). The plan was to leave last night immediately after the game and head back to Rhode Island. Estimated arrival time was 4 a.m.

Fond memories

The Rams were able to get in a morning practice at the Ford Center. For some on the Rhody side, that brought back great memories.

The last time URI played in Oklahoma City was in March of 1998, when the Rams beat Murray State and then No. 1 seed Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. Those games were at the Myriad, which is directly across the street from the Ford Center, where the Rams played last night. The Ford Center opened in 2002. It is the home, among other activities, for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Even though the building is only six years old, voters earlier this year approved a measure that added a one-cent sales tax that is expected to generate $121 million over 15 months to fund several major upgrades to the building, including a grand entrance, new restaurants and a multi-story atrium for the Ford Center. The facility includes 3,380 club seats and 56 suites.

Double dribbles

Prior to their morning practice, the Rams took a trip to view Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, which honors those killed in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. … The telecasters for last night’s doubleheader were Ron Franklin and Fran Fraschilla. Fraschilla began his career as an assistant coach at URI, and also coached at Providence College. He is a former head coach at Manhattan, St. John’s and New Mexico.