Box Score CASTLETON, Vt. -- Sophomore Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.) recorded a double-double performance of 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals to lead UMass Dartmouth to a 75-57 Little East Conference men's basketball victory over Castleton Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gym.
The wire-to-wire win lifted the visiting Corsairs (11-7, 6-3 LEC) into a four-way tie for first place in the conference standings with Rhode Island College, UMass Boston and Western Connecticut, as UMass Dartmouth jumped out to a 33-25 advantage at the break on the strength of eight first half points from sophomore Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer (Worcester, Mass.). The host Spartans (2-16, 1-8 LEC) crept back to within six on their opening possession after intermission, but the visitors used a 10-0 run over a three-and-a-half minute stretch to open up a 16-point cushion capped by junior Jake Ashworth's (Fairhaven, Mass.) three-pointer with 16:14 remaining in the game. That margin grew as high as 22 points in the closing minutes of action, as Castleton got no closer than 13 points down the stretch.
Ashworth added 13 points and six assists on the day for the Corsairs, who received 12 points from Sanders-Dyer along with eight points from sophomore Matt Valles (Fairhaven, Mass.). Sophomore Sean Leahy (Hanson, Mass.) chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds for the winners, who received a combined 11 points and 10 boards from senior Harry Alexander (Washington, D.C.) and sophomore Adam Seablom (Lakeville, Mass.). UMass Dartmouth shot 43 percent (29-67) from the floor and connected for 10 three-pointers (including four each from Azor and Ashworth), as the Corsairs held a 37-29 rebounding advantage and turned 26 turnovers into 26 points for the contest.
Junior Amadou Diakite (Harlem, N.Y.) led three players in double figures with 18 points in the setback for the Spartans, who received 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals from senior Demauriaye Smith (Oakland, Calif.) along with 13 points and four caroms from freshman Remy Brown (Boca Raton, Fla.). Senior Casey Belade (Shelton, Conn.) chipped in with seven points for Castleton, which shot 44 percent (18-41) from the field and canned six (including three by Brown) from behind the arc. The win gives the visitors a sweep of the two-game regular season series, as the Corsairs have claimed all four meetings between the two schools since the hosts joined the Little East last year.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Rhode Island College in a Little East Conference outing on Wednesday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center that tips-off at 7:30 pm, while Castleton heads to Keene, N.H. for a Little East encounter with Keene State on Wednesday evening that also tips-off at 7:30 pm.
