Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Sophomore Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.) led six players in double figures with 23 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals, as UMass Dartmouth clinched a bye in the upcoming Little East Conference Championships with a 119-67 league victory over Southern Maine Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The host Corsairs (15-10, 10-6 LEC) overcame an early six-point deficit and used a 9-2 run to close the first half in grabbing a 50-38 advantage at the break, as Azor combined with senior Harry Alexander (Washington, D.C.) and sophomore Sean Leahy (Hanson, Mass.) to score 35 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. UMass Dartmouth, which shot a sizzling 50 percent (19-38) from the field in the first half, blistered the nets at a near 60 percent clip (29-49) after intermission, as the Corsairs scored 11 of the first 13 points after intermission to open up a 21-point edge (61-40) on Azor's lay-in with 17:25 to play. The hosts pushed that margin further with a 25-3 run over a nine-minute stretch late in the contest to complete a sweep of the two-game season series between the two squads.
Leahy finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the triumph for UMass Dartmouth, which received 17 points off the bench from sophomore Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer (Worcester, Mass.). Alexander added 15 points, eight boards and six assists for the Corsairs, who received 15 points, four caroms and three assists from sophomore Adam Seablom (Lakeville, Mass.). Junior Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, Mass.) rounded out the group in double figures with 10 points for the winners, who received at least one point from every player in the lineup. Sophomore Drew Plante (Swansea, Mass.) chipped in with nine points for the hosts, who received nine rebounds from senior Marquis Jones (Randolph, Mass.) in shooting 55 percent (48-87) overall and 48 percent (13-27) from behind the arc on the day. UMass Dartmouth held a 66-22 scoring edge in the paint and converted 20 turnovers into 31 points while holding a 49-32 rebounding advantage for the contest.
Senior Jaire Roberts (Warrenton, Va.) scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the setback for the visiting Huskies (11-14, 6-10 LEC), who received 12 points from junior Derek Haney (Auburn, Calif.). Sophomore Jacobe Thomas (Houston, Tex.) added seven points and four boards for Southern Maine, which shot 38 percent (24-63) overall and canned 11 three-pointers on the afternoon.
Saturday's victory enabled UMass Dartmouth to clinch second place in the final Little East standings, as the Corsairs are seeded second in next week's league championships and will host the winner of the Plymouth State-Keene State quarterfinal round game in one conference semifinal matchup on Thursday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center beginning at 7:00 pm. Today's contest marked the season finale for Southern Maine.
(Photo Credit: Bridget Bagana '22)
