WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -Â Neither team was able to gain any breathing room Wednesday night at Geissler Gymnasium, and it was Eastern Connecticut who came out on top, 75-73, over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in its Little East Conference (LEC) opener.
Senior
Marcus Azor continued his strong start for the Corsairs (8-2, 0-1 LEC), registering 22 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, finishing the first semester with 999 career points. Junior
Jackson Zancan also posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards, while senior
Adam Seablom finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore Max Lee notched a triple-double for the Warriors (6-3, 2-0 LEC) with 10 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Four others joined Lee in double figures: Senior Tyreice Woods had 15, senior Cory Muckle tallied 14, senior Thomas Close had 12, and junior Quinton Lott recorded 11 and nine boards.
A pair of layups by Azor and a triple by senior
Sean Leahy jumped the Corsairs to a 7-3 lead at the 17:14 mark of the first half. East Conn then evened the score at seven before Azor drilled a 3-pointer to begin the back-and-forth night. Seven-straight points by ECSU's senior Thomas Close gave the home team a 14-10 lead before junior
John Martins Jr. drilled a three and Azor converted an and-1 to give UMassD a 16-14 lead and force a timeout with 11:06 on the clock.
After the timeout, a layup from sophomore
Isaac Percy, a 3-ball by Zancan, and a basket in the paint by senior
Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer gave the Corsairs their largest lead of the night of seven, 23-16, with 8:49 until the half. East Conn quickly erased its gap by going on a 13-4 run to take a 29-27 advantage with 4:47 to go. A steal and a slam, and a triple from Azor gave UMassD a four-point lead, but the Warriors stayed the course to make it a 38-38 game at the half.
Graduate student
Jake Ashworth and Zancan each nailed three's to open the second half with a 46-40 lead. East Conn answered with a 12-4 run to go up, 52-50, with 12:26 on the clock and the home team would never relinquish the lead.
5th-year senior
Jarron Santos tied the game at 52 with 8:55 left, but the Warriors continued to hang on. An Ashworth 3-pointer made it 60-59 with 4:09 to go, and a Seablom three cut it to 65-64 at the 2:59 mark. East Conn then put together five consecutive points to put it away as the Corsairs fought until the final buzzer.
A rematch of the 2020-21 LEC Championship is up next at Keene State on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m.
