Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Sophomore Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.) scored 19 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists to lead four players in double figures, as UMass Dartmouth notched an 86-75 Little East Conference men's basketball victory over UMass Boston Thursday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The host Corsairs (8-6, 3-2 LEC) grabbed an eight-point advantage (21-13) midway through the first half on sophomore Matt Valles' (Fairhaven, Mass.) lay-in, but the visiting Beacons (8-5, 3-2 LEC) responded with eight points in 54 seconds to even matters on senior Dasan Cinelli's (Boston, Mass.) three-pointer. UMass Dartmouth outscored UMass Boston by a 17-9 margin over the final nine-plus minutes of the half to take a 38-20 edge at the break fueled by eight points each from Azor and Vallies, and an Azor three-pointer 5:40 after intermission capped a 16-9 run to increase the hosts' lead to 16 (54-38). The visitors closed their deficit to seven twice in the closing minutes of action, as Cinelli's jumper with 48 seconds made it 80-73, but the Corsairs used six combined free throws from Azor and senior Harry Alexander (Washington, D.C.) in the final 37 seconds of play to ice their triumph.
Alexander added a double-double effort of 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in the win for UMass Dartmouth, which received 11 points, six boards and three helpers from sophomore Sean Leahy (Hanson, Mass.). Sophomore Adam Seablom (Lakeville, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points, six caroms and three assists for the Corsairs, who collected nine points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals from junior Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, Mass.) along with eight points from Valles. The hosts shot 46 percent (33-72) from the field and held a 17-8 scoring edge at the foul line, as UMass Dartmouth claimed a 45-39 rebounding advantage and converted 19 offensive boards into 22 second chance points.
Cinelli led all scorers with 28 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the setback for UMass Boston, which received 17 points, nine boards and three steals from junior Charles Mitchell (Boston, Mass.). Junior Michael Boyd (Malden, Mass.) added 10 points and three assists for the Beacons, who shot 41 percent (29-70) and connected for nine three-pointers on the evening.
UMass Dartmouth entertains Western Connecticut in a Little East Conference clash on Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center that tips-off at 3:00 pm, while UMass Boston heads to Cambridge, Mass. for a non-league outing with Lesley on Saturday afternoon that tips-off at 1:30 pm.
(Photo Credit: Bridget Bagana '22)
