Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team shot 71 percent from the floor in the second half to break open a five-point halftime advantage to cruise to an 86-66 Little East Conference victory this evening over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
The Warriors (4-0) move into first within the conference standings, while the Corsairs (3-1) slipped into a second place tie with Keene State College and Rhode Island College.
Eastern Connecticut produced a balanced scoring attack with four starters reaching double-figure point totals. Trachone Preston led the Warriors with 16 points and dished out six assists. Tarchee Brown compiled a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Hugh Lino added a dozen points and snagged six caroms, while Kevin Leumene poured in 11 points, compiled five rebounds and distrubted four assists. Off the bench, Michael-Thomas Sciro scored 10 points and Collin Jordan added eight points and five assists for the host team.
Junior Jordan Rezendes (Onset, Mass.) registered a game-high 18 points, on 7-for-16 from the field, to lead the visitors. Junior Wale Abraham (Lynn, Mass.) recorded 12 points, sophomore Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.) scored a season-high 13 points off the bench. Senior Josh Castillo (Lynn, Mass.) contributed 10 points, including 2-for-3 from long range, to complete the Corsairs' contingent in double figures.
In a closely-contested opening stanza that featured four lead changes and six ties, UMass Dartmouth scored consecutive baskets, capped by a Rezendes' lay-up, to give the Corsairs their lone advantage of the frame at 4-2. Eastern Connecticut used a 6-0 run, spearheaded by four points from Michael-Thomas Sciro, to build the largest lead of the half at 24-17 with five minutes left. Castillo stemmed the tide with a jumper and three-pointer, but the Warriors carried a 32-27 lead into the locker room.
Eastern Connecticut was white-hot from the field in the second stanza, converting 22-of-31 attempts from the field. The Warriors also found their range from downtown over the final 20 minutes, knocking down six of their eight three-pointers. The hosts took their first double digit lead less than four and a half minutes into the frame at 48-37.
Despite the Warriors' hot shooting, UMass Dartmouth was able to trim its deficit to nine points midway through the stanza, but Eastern Connecticut used a 20-6 burst to balloon its advantage to 23 points. The Corsairs were never able to recover over the final three minutes of regulation to suffer their first conference setback of the season.
UMass Dartmouth shot 51.0 percent (26-for-51) from the floor, including 50 percent (6-for-12) from behind the three-point arc. The visitors struggled from the foul line (47.1 percent) and were outrebounded by 17. The Warriors committed a season-low eight turnovers, while forcing 12.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, when the Corsairs travel to Keene State College.
