Box Score PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Despite a late rally from the hosts, two made foul shots from senior Jordan Rezendes (Onset, Mass.) with six seconds remaining sealed the 77-72 win for UMass Dartmouth men's basketball on Wednesday over Rhode Island College at the Murray Center.
Rezendes led all scorers on the night, sinking 26 points with eight rebounds and six assists. In the post, freshmen Nick Portelance (Fairhaven, Mass.) and Arinze Obiora (Hyde Park, Mass.) combined for 12-of-18 from the field and 15 boards. Obiora finished with a career-high 13 points, while Portelance added 18.
Rhode Island College freshman Jason Jones (Roxbury, Mass.) led three Anchormen in double figures, amassing 16 points with 10 rebounds. Junior Terrance Tribble (White Plains, N.Y.) snagged 15 boards with 12 points, while sophomore Chris Green (Taunton, Mass.) posted 14 points.
Even play followed a game-opening 3-pointer from Corsair junior Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.), until a Jones layup sparked a 9-2 run to give the Anchormen a seven-point lead at the 12:54 mark. Rezendes then sunk a shot from behind the arc to turn the tides and tie the score a minute later.
Back-to-back layups from Obiora and another Rezendes long-range bucket instilled breathing room for UMass Dartmouth with nearly five minutes remaining in the first half. The Corsair lead would hover around eight for the rest of the stanza, capped with a Rezendes-to-Obiora buzzer-beating jumper to give the visitors a 43-35 advantage heading into the locker room.
UMass Dartmouth was excellent from the field on the first half, connecting on 16 of 30 attempts (53 percent) with 18 points in the paint.
The Corsairs expanded on their lead to resume play. The trio of Rezendes, Obiora and Portelance converted easy points in the paint over the first six minutes to put their squad up as much as 12.
The Anchormen couldn't be shaken, though. With 10 minutes left, RIC embarked on a 9-2 run, cutting the lead to only three with a Gianni Carwin (Stamford, Conn.) 3-pointer. UMass Dartmouth was able to increase their advantage back to as much as seven until the final seconds and fend off RIC's last efforts with Rezendes' foul shooting.
With the victory, the Corsairs rise to 10-6 overall with a 3-3 record in the Little East Conference. Rhode Island College slips to 2-14 and 1-5 in the conference.
UMass Dartmouth will seek to avenge Dec. 5's 103-84 loss to Keene State on Saturday, as the Corsairs welcome the Owls to the Tripp Center.
