Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Junior Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, Mass.) scored a career-high 35 points, as second-seeded UMass Dartmouth advanced to the 2020 Little East Conference Men's Basketball championship game with a 84-71 semifinal round victory over third-seeded Plymouth State Thursday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The host Corsairs, who improve to 16-10 overall with the triumph, will take on top-seeded Western Connecticut (19-7) in Saturday afternoon's title game at Feldman Arena in Danbury, Conn. that tips-off at 2:00 pm, as the Colonials bested fourth-seeded UMass Boston 88-73 in Thursday night's other semifinal. The visiting Panthers conclude their campaign at 16-11.
UMass Dartmouth overcame an early five-point deficit (14-9) with a 21-4 run over a six minute stretch to take a 30-18 edge on a pair of Ashworth free throws with 6:29 remaining in the first half, but Plymouth State responded with a 12-4 run of its own to slice that margin to five (34-29) at the break on sophomore Manny Sanchez's (Lawrence, Mass.) lay-in. The Corsairs took control of the contest by scoring 15 of the first 17 points after intermission to build a 49-31 lead on sophomore Adam Seablom's (Lakeville, Mass.) dunk with 16:20 to play, as the hosts extended that margin to as much as 21 points in the final 11:22 of the contest to avenge a pair of regular season setbacks to the visitors.
Ashworth connected for five three-pointers and converted 10-of-11 attempts at the foul line en route to his career-best performance for UMass Dartmouth, which received 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals from sophomore Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.). Seablom also notched 16 points and three steals for the Corsairs, who received six points and seven boards from senior Harry Alexander (Washington, D.C.) along with six points off the bench from freshman Taylor Carlson (Wareham, Mass.). The hosts shot 45 percent (29-64) from the field overall and 48 percent (12-25) from behind the arc on the evening, as UMass Dartmouth held a 42-35 edge on the glass and converted 18 turnovers into 20 points.
Senior Jaylen LeRoy (Manchester, N.H.) scored 20 points in the setback for Plymouth State, which received a double-double effort of 11 points and 10 rebounds from junior Devin Cooper (Newfield, N.Y.). Sophomore Manny Alisandro (Manchester, N.H.) added 11 points and five caroms for the Panthers, who shot 42 percent (26-62) from the floor and held a 34-18 scoring advantage in the paint for the contest.
UMass Dartmouth is making its record 15 appearance in the Little East championship game, as the Corsairs are seeking the program's 12th league tournament crown overall and first since 2009. UMass Dartmouth and Western Connecticut split their two regular season meetings, as the Corsairs collected an 89-72 win on January 11th in Dartmouth and the Colonials returned the favor with a 72-59 triumph on February 15th in Danbury.
(Photo Credit: Bruno Pires '21)
