Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior Jordan Rezendes (Onset, Mass.) again rewrote the UMass Dartmouth men's basketball record books on Saturday afternoon, breaking his own single-game scoring record by dropping 58 points in an 88-83 loss at Plymouth State.
The total tops the previous mark which Rezendes set last season on Feb. 21, 2015, when he registered 51 points against Keene State at the Tripp Athletic Center. He nearly met the program standard for made field goals, going 18-for-26 on the contest, merely one away from the school-record 19 set by Kevin Phelan in 1972.
With his 17-of-18 performance from the foul line, Rezendes is now tied for the second-most free throws made in a game in UMass Dartmouth history. He now paces all of Division III in scoring with 30.3 points per game after hovering in the top-three spots for the first two months of the season.
The Corsairs were ultimately outdone by the Panthers despite mounting a second half comeback, as senior Uche Nwokeji (Lynn, Mass.) led Plymouth State with 31 points and 18 rebounds. Sophomore Brian Boulay (Keene, N.H.) added 22 points while junior Curtis Arsenault (Berlin, N.H.) added 16 points and four boards.
Freshman Arinze Obiora (Hyde Park, Mass.) put in the first bucket of the game, but it marked the only lead the visitors would see on the evening. The Panthers responded with 12 straight points after Obiora's layup, as Boulay converted seven along with a steal. Rezendes began his historic night to break Plymouth State's run, scoring a 3-pointer and cut the deficit to seven.
Rezendes then went on a layup spree over the next five minutes, as the Corsairs got within five thanks to a Tom Keyes (Fall River, Mass.) basket from beyond the arc at 10:39. The Panthers then slowly built upon their lead as Rezendes drew fouls to get to the charity stripe. Plymouth State went on a 14-6 run to close the half, entering the intermission with a 57-38 advantage.
In the first half, Rezendes' numbers were impressive enough, as the senior scored 23 points in the first 20 minutes on 7-of-12 shooting. Both teams put forth sharp-shooting efforts in the first stanza, as Plymouth State went 20-of-31 (64 percent) to UMass Dartmouth's 13-of-26 (50 percent).
Despite Rezendes recording the Corsairs' first 11 points of the second half, on three layups, two free throws and a 3-pointer, Plymouth State's group effort kept UMass Dartmouth at bay for the first seven minutes. A 3-point bucket from Eddy Porro (Dorchester, Mass.) began a slow Corsair comeback, as Rezendes scored the next eight UMD points to bring the lead down to seven.
Baskets were traded for the next few minutes, until a small 9-2 Corsair run capped by a Rezendes layup put the Panther lead at 83-81 with 1:36 remaining. However, UMass Dartmouth was only able to muster two more free throws from Rezendes for the rest of play, while the Panthers earned a Nwokeji bucket and foul shots to edge out the five-point victory.
The Corsairs saw 38 points from the bench in the second half, 35 of which belonged to Rezendes. He went a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line and 11-of-14 overall from the field while sinking 3-of-5 3-pointers.
UMass Dartmouth is now 11-8 on the season with a 4-5 record in the Little East Conference. The Corsairs will be on the road again on Tuesday for their last non-conference contest of the season, visiting Tufts for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
