SYRACUSE -The Syracuse men#'s basketball team once again proved you can't out-duel every opponent.

At some point, you're going to have to make some stops and haul in some rebounds.

The Orange blew an 11-point lead in the final 11 minutes of regulation in a 91-89 loss to Rhode Island Saturday night at the Carrier Dome.

It was the second time in four games that Syracuse has surrendered 90-plus points at the Dome. The Orange lost to Massachussetts 107-100 on Nov. 28.

“We thought if the game went into the 90s -I even wanted it in the 100s - the better chance we'd have,” Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron said.

The Rams bombarded the Orange from the the perimeter in the first half, connecting on nine of their first 11 3-point attempts.

But in the second half, the story and the style of play shifted. Rhode Island abandoned the outside shot and pounded the ball inside, taking advantage of a lethargic Orange interior.

“They got winded from us continuing to attack,” Baron said.

Despite a strong showing in the 2-3 zone in a win against Virginia on Wednesday, Syracuse played man-to-man defense the entire 40 minutes against Rhode Island. The match-up defense eventually limited the Rams' outside shooters but it led to more fouls-24 by SU-and a gassed Orange lineup.

“In the man-to-man you're more likely to commit fouls,” Boeheim said. “We're going to get in foul trouble in the man. We've got to be able to adjust.”

Syracuse's leading scorer Donte Greene fouled out with 4:10 remaining and scored just 12 points. Eric Devendorf also spent a majority of the second half on the bench with four fouls.

The Orange's leading tandem combined for just seven second-half points.

Despite the foul trouble and some lackluster play at the defensive end, Boeheim was more disappointed in his squad's work on the boards. Rhode Island out-rebounded Syracuse 46-35 and the Orange's leading rebounder, Paul Harris (10.9 per game), was held to just two boards.

“We've got to rebound better,” Boeheim said. “We didn't come to rebound. Paul's a good rebounder and he got two. We actually got enough stops, we just didn't rebound the ball.”

The Rams finished with 21 offensive rebounds, leading to 18 second-chance points.

“I thought too many times we got stuck underneath the baskets,” said SU freshman Rick Jackson, who finished with a career-high 13 points and seven rebounds. “The ball just seemed to fall in their hands more than ours.”

Offense isn't an issue - Syracuse made 36 field goals on 23 assists. But defense and rebounding continue to plague the young Orange team.

It was the same against Masschussetts, and it was the same in a loss to Ohio State. Syracuse puts up plenty of points, but that's not always good enough.

“We missed three fast-break opportunities,#” Boeheim said. “We got out-rebounded by 11. These are things you can't do when you're a young team. We make mistakes you can't bounce back from.”