Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- Junior Cory Muckle's (Westbrook, Conn.) three-pointer with four seconds remaining lifted Eastern Connecticut to an 87-83 Little East Conference men's basketball victory over UMass Dartmouth Tuesday evening at Geissler Gymnasium.
The host Warriors (5-7, 1-2 LEC) trailed by eight (40-32) at the break, as the visiting Corsairs (7-6, 2-2 LEC) led for all but 1:17 of the opening half. Eastern Connecticut used a 13-3 run in the first 3:49 after intermission to grab a 45-43 cushion on Muckle's three-pointer with 16:11 remaining in the contest, and the teams traded the lead 11 times while forging five ties in the final 15-plus minutes.
Sophomore Sharown Fowler's (Springfield, Mass.) lay-in with 59 seconds left staked the hosts to a one-point edge, but junior Jake Ashworth's (Fairhaven, Mass.) jumper with 11 ticks remaining gave UMass Dartmouth its final lead (83-82) of the night. Muckle responded with the game-winning trey on the Warriors' ensuing possession, and the Corsairs turned the ball over on the inbounds pass that enabled sophomore Seth Thomas (Norwich, Conn.) to ice Eastern Connecticut's triumph with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
Senior Jake Collagan (Wethersfield, Conn.) scored 23 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists in the win for the Warriors, who received 22 points and four caroms from Muckle along with a double-double effort of 16 points and 13 boards from Thomas. Eastern Connecticut shot 52 percent (31-61) from the field and connected for eight three-pointers (six by Muckle) on the evening.
Sophomore Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.) netted 18 points and nine rebounds in the setback for UMass Dartmouth, which received 13 points and four boards from sophomore Adam Seablom (Lakeville, Mass.) along with 12 points, six caroms and four assists from Ashworth. Freshman Taylor Carlson (Wareham, Mass.) added 10 points off the bench for the Corsairs, who received eight points and eight rebounds from senior Harry Alexander (Washington, D.C.). The visitors shot 39 percent (30-78) from the floor and held a 45-32 advantage on the glass for the contest.
UMass Dartmouth hosts UMass Boston in a Little East Conference matchup on Thursday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center that tips-off at 7:30 pm, while Eastern Connecticut travels to Keene, N.H. on Thursday evening for a Little East outing with Keene State that also tips-off at 7:30 pm.
