Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Little East Conference leader Eastern Connecticut rebounded from a four-point halftime deficit, rallying past UMass Dartmouth for an 88-71 victory in men's basketball action on Saturday.
Despite senior Jordan Rezendes' (Onset, Mass.) 29 points and six assists, the Corsairs were unable to overcome Warrior junior Hugh Lindo's (Enfield, Conn.) 30-point, 16-rebound performance on 12-of-16 shooting from the floor. Twenty of Lindo's points came in the second half.
UMass Dartmouth junior Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.) added 10 points, all in the first half, to go along with a team-high three steals. Classmate Jahleel Moise (Brockton, Mass.) contributed eight points and eight boards to the Corsairs' efforts.
For the Warriors, senior Trachone Preston (Enfield, Conn.) posted 15 points and sophomore Tarchee Brown (Rockville, Conn.) 14 as their squad connected on 53 percent (33-of-62) of its chances from the field.
Eastern Connecticut opened play on a high note, culminating the first 14 minutes of play on a 13-6 run capped with a Michael-Thomas Sciro (Westerly, R.I.) 3-pointer. The Corsairs then chipped away over the next five minutes, embarking on a 9-2 streak as a pair of Rezendes free throws tied the game at 15 with 10 minutes remaining.
In the following five minutes, Eastern Connecticut gained back some ground, going up five with a Lindo dunk at 5:31, but a layup from Moise and long-range bucket from Rezendes did away with the Warrior lead for the rest of the half. A 10-0 run over a minute and a half put the visitors up as much as eight, and UMass Dartmouth entered the break with a 38-34 advantage.
The Warriors then came out of the break firing, diminishing the slim Corsair lead for good following the first four minutes. A 13-0 Eastern Connecticut run that included five points apiece from both Preston and Brown put the hosts up 12 at 12:57.
For the remainder of the game, UMass Dartmouth had no answer for Lindo, as the junior forward pounded the paint to go 7-of-9 from the field and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes. Eastern Connecticut decimated the Corsairs from the low blocks, registering 28 points in the paint to UMass Dartmouth's 10 in the stanza while adding 13 points off nine turnovers. The Warriors also received 15 points from its reserves in the second half.
The Corsairs went 26-of-61 from the field (42 percent) on the afternoon while connecting on 12-of-20 opportunities at the free throw line and 7-of-18 from beyond the arc. In Little East play, UMass Dartmouth now sits 6-6 and 13-10 overall heading into the last week of the season, while Eastern Connecticut maintains its hold on the league standings with a 10-2 conference and 16-7 overall slate.
UMass Dartmouth will remain on the road next Wednesday as it seeks a season-sweep of UMass Boston at 7:30 p.m.
