Box Score DANBURY, Conn. – Behind freshman Nick Portelance's (Fairhaven, Mass.) fifth-straight double-double performance, the UMass Dartmouth men's basketball squad was able to fend off a late Western Connecticut charge on Saturday, securing an 89-82 Little East Conference victory at Feldman Arena.
Portelance continued his dominant inside play, registering his third-straight contest with 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. In the win, he tied his career-high scoring mark with 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting while grabbing 18 rebounds against the Colonials.
Senior Jordan Rezendes (Onset, Mass.) recorded his sixth 30-plus point outing of the season, registering 32 (9-for-21) on Saturday with five 3-point baskets while adding eight rebounds and a game-high nine assists. Also contributing the Corsairs' attack was junior Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.), adding nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
As a team, the Corsairs put forth their second-best shooting performance of the season thus far in their third-straight victory, hitting 34-of-60 (56.7 percent) from the field while compiling a 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) margin from the free throw line.
Senior Phil Starks (Hartford, Conn.) led four Colonials who scored in double figures with 22 points, followed by senior Luis Bridtter (Stamford, Conn.) with 19 points, freshman Jauch Green (Hartford, Conn.) with 15 points, and freshman Aaron Samuel (Stratford, Conn.) with 14 points. Junior Tre'Von Perry (Waterbury, Conn.) contributed nine points and led the Colonials with nine rebounds.
Buckets were traded to begin the contest, with multiple tied scores until the 11:32 mark. Following a layup from Portelance and two foul shots from Rezendes, the Corsairs began to seize control, building to as much as an 18-point lead.
Portelance registered a double-double in the first half with 12 points and 10 boards to help UMass Dartmouth to a 44-29 advantage at the break.
Rezendes came alive in the second stanza, registering 24 of his points along with three baskets from long range and seven free throws to keep the Colonials at bay.
The Corsairs kept a double-digit advantage until the closing six minutes. Western Connecticut then sparked a 10-0 run, cutting the lead to 77-75 with 2:59 remaining.
A 5-0 counter-run by UMass Dartmouth followed by conversions from the charity stripe was enough to keep the Colonials at bay over the final three minutes.
With the victory, the Corsairs earn their first LEC win on the season and rise to 8-5 overall. Conference play continues on Wednesday, as Eastern Connecticut will make the journey to meet UMass Dartmouth at the Tripp Center at 7:30 p.m.
