Ashworth's Big Night Blows UMass Dartmouth by Bears

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Graduate student Jake Ashworth matched his career high with seven 3-pointers, going 7-of-8 from beyond the arc, to finish with a game-high 25 points and four steals as the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team blew by Bridgewater State, 80-48, Tuesday night in its first road test.

Senior Marcus Azor posted his second-consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while adding six assists and three blocks. Junior Jackson Zancan was in double figures as well, with 12 points and six rebounds, and senior Sean Leahy finished with 10 points and seven boards.

Defense stood out for the Corsairs (3-0) as the team did not allow a member of the Bears (0-1) to reach double figures, holding the home team to 31.7 percent from the field and 1-of-15 from deep. It was the second-lowest point-total allowed by UMassD since the 2018-19 season.

The game was pretty much over in the first three-plus minutes as the Corsairs jumped ahead to a 15-2 lead. Leahy already had six of the Corsairs' eight points before Bridgewater found the basket. Zancan and Azor scored in the paint and Ashworth drilled his first triple at the 16:22 mark to extend the lead to 15-3. Five-straight points from Zancan and two more threes by Ashworth made it 31-13 with 6:56 until halftime. A fastbreak layup by Azor and a pair of 3-balls from Ashworth continued to extend the lead. Sophomore Isaac Percy dropped in a basket in the final seconds of the half to make it a 45-23 advantage at the break.

The second half was much of the same. Senior Adam Seablom got the scoring started, while Azor and Leahy kept things rolling. Ashworth hit another three, made a layup, and sunk triple number seven to make it 59-28 with 13:26 to go. Azor had a breakaway slam and freshman Brian Taylor converted an and-1 to give UMassD its largest lead of the night of 36 points, 69-33, with 8:02 on the clock. Senior Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer put an exclamation point on the night with with a dunk from 5th-year senior Jarron Santos to finish things off.

UMass Dartmouth has changed its schedule and will now host MIT at 4 p.m. at the Tripp Athletic Center on Thursday.