Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Junior Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, Mass.) scored 24 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and added 10 rebounds for a double-double performance that lifted UMass Dartmouth to an 81-74 Little East Conference men's basketball victory over Rhode Island College Wednesday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center.
Ashworth became the 49th member of the host Corsairs' (12-7, 7-3 LEC) 1000 Point Club fittingly on a three-pointer with 1:56 remaining in the first half, as his 19 point outburst in the opening 20 minutes of play helped UMass Dartmouth extend a four-point lead to a 14-point advantage (41-27) at the break. That margin ballooned to 19 points (60-41) on senior Harry Alexander's (Washington, D.C.) jumper with 14:29 remaining, as the hosts maintained a double-digit lead until late in the game when the visiting Anchormen (13-6, 6-4 LEC) used a 13-4 run over a five minute stretch to slice their deficit to five on two occasions in the final 50 seconds. Four free throws from sophomores Sean Leahy (Hanson, Mass.) and Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.) sealed the Corsair triumph, as the result gives UMass Dartmouth a tie with Western Connecticut for the top spot in the league standings.
Leahy joined Ashworth with a double-double effort of 18 points and 11 rebounds for the hosts, who received 12 points, six assists and three boards from sophomore Adam Seablom (Lakeville, Mass.) along with 10 points, seven assists, six caroms and three blocks from Azor. Alexander and sophomore Matt Valles (Fairhaven, Mass.) each added six points for the Corsairs, who connected for 10 three-pointers and recorded 20 assists on 29 made field goals while holding a 54-49 rebounding advantage on the evening.
Freshman Shion Darby (Peekskill, N.Y.) scored 23 points and dished out four assists to lead four players in double figures in the setback for Rhode Island College, which received 21 points and six boards from junior Tim Deng (Portland, Maine) along with a double-double performance of 17 points and 19 rebounds from senior Benjamin Vezele (Providence, R.I.). Senior Jonatan Batista (Providence, R.I.) chipped in with 10 points and five steals for the Anchormen, who shot 36 percent (30-84) from the field but hit on just 5-of-27 attempts (19 percent) from behind the arc.
UMass Dartmouth will be idle until next Wednesday, February 5th when the Corsairs host Eastern Connecticut in a Little East Conference outing at the Tripp Athletic Center that tips-off at 7:30 pm, while Rhode Island College travels to Castleton, Vt. on Saturday afternoon for a Little East clash with Castleton that tips-off at 5:00 pm.
(Photo Credit: Bridget Bagana '22)
