Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Using a red-hot 22-of-38 (57 percent) performance from the field in the first half, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth built a 19 point lead at halftime and crashed the boards to further the margin in the second half, downing Eastern Connecticut by a 96-70 final score at the Tripp Athletic Center on Saturday.
The Basics
Score: UMass Dartmouth 96, Eastern Connecticut 70
Records: UMass Dartmouth (16-7, 9-3 LEC) | Eastern Connecticut (15-8, 9-3 LEC)
How it Happened
ECSU's Tarchee Brown (Rockville, Conn.) registered the opening basket from the tip, but UMass Dartmouth nevertheless seized control beginning on their first possession. Kicked off by a layup from senior Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.), the Corsairs cashed in on their first six baskets including back-to-back Chris Mendes (Somerset, Mass.) 3-pointers to take a 14-4 lead. For every step the Warriors took, the Corsairs had a response, and pushed the advantage to 12 points with a beyond-the-arc fast-break bucket by Tucker Bouchard (Kingston, Mass.) at 10:16.
Beginning at 8:42, UMass Dartmouth built their advantage to 17 following a 9-0 run including five more Mendes points. From that point, the Corsair lead would remain in double-digits, with back-to-back Robinson baskets to close the half with the score sitting at 52-33. In the opening frame, the hosts outperformed the Warriors by 20 points in the paint.
Five minutes into the second stanza, Brown sunk a 3-pointer and Kendall Marquez (Willimantic, Conn.) followed with a fast-break layup to put ECSU back within 13. Within two minutes, the visitors bumped within 11, but again Mendes was there to silence the chance. On the trip back down, the senior registered his fourth 3-pointer of the game, and the Corsairs never looked back, mounting a 12-0 run for a 27-point lead to effectively clinch the game.
Inside the Numbers
- With the win, UMass Dartmouth earns its fourth-straight triumph and moves into a three-way tie for first place in the Little East Conference standings heading into the final week of the regular season.
- All said, the Corsairs finished with a 52 percent (40-of-76) shooting percentage on the game, their second-highest performance of the season, and season-highs with 40 field goals and 11 3-pointers.
- The Corsairs posted their second-highest rebounding margin of the season, outdoing the Warriors 51-31 on the boards. They previously grabbed 36 more boards than Western Connecticut on Jan. 8.
- UMass Dartmouth is now 10-2 on its home court this season, and hand ECSU its first loss at the Tripp Athletic Center in eight years.
- Mendes topped four Corsairs in double-figures with 19 points on Senior Day, adding five assists and three steals. Freshman Mert Sert (Istanbul, Turkey) generated a monster double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds while also dishing out five helpers, including 10 points and 10 boards in the second half alone.
- Saturday's victory over ECSU is just the second for a UMass Dartmouth team since 2010. The Corsairs previously defeated the Warriors in last season's LEC semifinals.
- Junior Joshua Imadiyi (Lynn, Mass.) added 11 points and eight rebounds to the Corsairs' efforts, and Robinson added 15 points with a perfect 3-for-3 day from beyond the arc.
- Brown led all scorers with 21 points for ECSU, while Hugh Lindo (Enfield, Conn.) contributed 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Up Next
The conference race continues on Wednesday, as UMass Dartmouth hosts UMass Boston for its final home contest of the regular season at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Connecticut returns home for a crucial LEC contest against Keene State at the same time.
