DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team captured the LaFrance Hospitality Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon with a 93-63 victory over Fitchburg State.
Senior
Marcus Azor, who was named Tournament MVP, led the Corsairs (2-0) with an impressive 16-point, 10-assist double-double and added eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Senior
Adam Seablom came away with 15 points and four assists, etching his name to the All-Tournament team.
Graduate student
Jake Ashworth finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 from beyond the arc with nine rebounds, while senior
Sean Leahy had nine points and nine boards and junior
John Martins Jr. recorded 10 points off the bench.
The Corsairs defense was strong throughout, not allowing a member of the Falcons (1-1) to reach double figures.
Just like yesterday, Ashworth knocked down a triple to get the scoring started for the Corsairs. Seablom, Leahy and junior
Jackson Zancan continued the scoring to boost the Corsairs to a 9-0 advantage at the 16:06 mark. The closest Fitchburg was able to get was five points, narrowing its gap to 19-14 after a 3-pointer with 8:13 on the clock.
UMass Dartmouth then ran away with it, finishing the half on a 31-12 run. A Seablom layup and a 3-ball by Ashworth got it started, a pair of 3-pointers from 5th-year senior
Jarron Santos and Leahy kept it going, and back-to-back triples from Martins Jr., followed by a steal and breakaway slam by Azor made it a 50-26 halftime score.
The Corsairs put the game away early in the second, scoring the first 13 points of the half. That made the run 44-12 going back to the first half, and UMassD found themselves ahead by 37 points, 63-26, with 16:11 to go. Sophomore
Mike Eurquhart threw down a dunk, while Ashworth and Seablom sunk triples to bring it to a 41-point lead with 10:45 to go. Martins Jr. then converted a 4-point play with 3:09 left on the clock to finish things off.
UMass Dartmouth plays its first road game of the year on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Bridgewater State.
