Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Jordan Rezendes (Onset, Mass.) registered 11 of UMass Dartmouth's 17 points in overtime on Senior Day, totaling 42 points in his final regular-season contest as the Corsairs rallied past Southern Maine in extra minutes, 102-94.
With the victory, UMass Dartmouth (15-10, 8-6 LEC) secures the No. 4 seed and quarterfinal hosting duties for the 2016 Little East Conference Men's Basketball tournament. The Corsairs will host No. 5 seed Western Connecticut on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the opening round.
Rezendes, the lone Corsair senior this year, reached his point total in large part from his performance at the foul line, going 21-of-24 for the contest. Junior Abi Akanni (Fitchburg, Mass.) chipped in a double-double, scoring 14 points, 10 boards and six assists, while junior Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.) posted 12 points and freshman Nick Portelance (Fairhaven, Mass.) 11 points and nine rebounds.
Going back-and-forth with Rezendes on the opposite end was Southern Maine senior Jose Nouchanthavong (Westbrook, Maine), who finished with 34 points to go along with six assists. Junior Atencio Martin (Kittery, Maine) contributed a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double and junior Zach Leal (York, Maine) registered 18 points and seven rebounds.
After trailing the entirety of the first half and majority of the second, Southern Maine took its first lead on a Nouchanthavong 3-pointer with just over six minutes remaining after an 11-2 run. Both team traded shots until the one-minute mark, when Rezendes buried a long-range bucket to put the hosts up two. Corresponding Nouchanthavong foul shots tied the game.
Rezendes got to the line four times in the next 20 seconds, making three of his four opportunities to up the Corsair lead back to three. With 11 seconds remaining, Nouchanthavong drew the foul on a 3-point attempt and buried all three of his free throws to tie the game again. On the final possession, Rezendes took the ball the length of the court, getting off a jumper that fell just short at the buzzer.
Southern Maine got out to a hot start to start overtime, as Leal made the first two buckets. Rezendes free throws again responded in kind, tying the game at 89 to spark nine unanswered Corsair points. With a 96-89 deficit, Martin gained back for the Huskies at the charity stripe, but back-to-back Robinson and Portelance layups served as the dagger. The Corsairs converted on all eight of the free throw chances in extra minutes.
The Corsairs went 33-of-74 (44 percent) from the field, outrebounding Southern Maine 44-39 including 19 offensive boards. The Huskies shot 33-of-67 (49 percent) but committed seven more turnovers than UMass Dartmouth on the game.
The Corsairs will meet Western Connecticut, who picked up the No. 5 seed with an overtime win over Plymouth State on Saturday. UMass Dartmouth defeated WCSU twice on the regular season, first on Jan. 9 by an 89-82 score and again on Feb. 6, 85-75.
