Box Score
DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Jordan Rezendes (Onset, Mass.) registered 27 points in the second half on Wednesday, going 9-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point range to lift UMass Dartmouth men's basketball to an 83-77 victory over UMass Boston at the Tripp Center.
After scoring a season-low two points in the first half, Rezendes bounced back in a big way, scoring nearly half of the Corsairs' second stanza buckets while dishing out a game-high eight assists. Junior Jahleel Moise (Brockton, Mass.) also earned a big scoring night, registering his highest point total on the year since the first game of the season with 14 points. Freshman Atakan Akcam (Hoosac Falls, N.Y.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
The Beacons were paced by junior Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass.), who dropped a career-high 21 points, and senior Quadry Allen's (White Castle, La.) 20 points and three steals. Off the bench, Maurice Magras (Medford, Mass.) and Michael Campbell (Boston, Mass.) each added 12 points while Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
The first half was a close affair, with UMass Dartmouth jumping out to a slight lead in the first five minutes. An 8-0 run capped by a layup from Arinze Obiora (Hyde Park, Mass.) put the hosts up by seven at the 15:20 mark.
The Beacons, led by Freeman, brought the margin back down to only one, until UMass Dartmouth achieved its highest lead of the half, 22-14, two minutes later following an emphatic Moise dunk. The last five minutes of the half were back-and-forth, as the Corsairs were able to carry a 27-24 lead into the half.
The Corsairs held their advantage for the rest of the night as Rezendes exploded, starting with two free throws at the very beginning of the second half. Halfway through the stanza, the hosts seized control as the Onset, Mass. native rattled off 17 of his team's 19 points in five minutes.
Rezendes hit a 3-pointer at 6:17 to put the Corsairs up 68-58, and UMass Boston could only minimize the lead to three for the rest of the contest. The Corsairs registered 22 points in the paint as part of a 19-of-29 (65 percent) second half performance to seal the game.
The Corsairs have now won six of their last eight games to start 2016 and rise to 11-7 and 4-4 in the Little East Conference. UMass Boston slips to 5-13 with a 1-7 league slate, with UMass Dartmouth holding a 47-7 all-time record against its in-state rival.
UMass Dartmouth is back on the road on Saturday as the Corsairs travel to Plymouth State to seek a season split with the Panthers at 3 p.m. The Beacons will also trek to New Hampshire as they meet Keene State.
