KEENE, N.H. -- Junior
Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer (Worcester, Mass.) came off the bench to score 18 points and lead five players in double figures, as UMass Dartmouth regained the top spot in the Little East Conference men's basketball standings with an 86-75 victory over Keene State Sunday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.
The visiting Corsairs (5-1, 5-1 LEC) took control early on in the back end of a home-and-home set with the host Owls (4-1, 4-1 LEC), who prevailed by a 68-67 margin yesterday afternoon in the matchup at the Tripp Athletic Center. UMass Dartmouth raced out to a 13-3 advantage just 3:44 into the contest and maintained a double-digit edge through the opening half of action, as Sanders-Dyer and freshman
Isaac Percy (Pittsfield, Mass.) combined for 26 points to give the visitors a 48-40 cushion at the break.
Keene State closed that gap to five (58-53) on freshman
Jordan Santos's (Hollis, N.H.) three-pointer 4:41 after intermission, but the Corsairs gained a nine-point lead before using 10 unanswered points in a 3:35 stretch to extend that margin to 19 (78-59) on a Sanders-Dyer lay-in with 7:31 remaining. The Owls crept back to within 12 inside of three minutes before junior
Marcus Azor's (Brockton, Mass.) dunk provided some space with 2:21 to play provided some space for UMass Dartmouth, which received four free throws from senior
Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, Mass.) in the final 64 seconds of action to seal the result and gain the weekend split.
Percy finished with a career-high 16 points that featured four three-pointers in the triumph for the Corsairs, who received another double-double performance of 11 points, 15 rebounds and five assists from reigning Little East Player of the Week Azor. Junior
Adam Seablom (Lakeville, Mass.) collected 11 points and eight boards for the visitors, while Ashworth rounded out the quintet in double figures with 11 points as well. Junior
Matt Valles (Fairhaven, Mass.) and sophomore
Jackson Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.) combined for nine points while grabbing six caroms each for UMass Dartmouth, which shot 40 percent (33-83) from the field overall and held a slim 46-45 rebounding advantage on the day. The Corsairs also converted 17 Owl turnovers into 19 points for the contest.
Sophomore
Jeff Hunter (Hudson, Mass.) recorded a double-double with a game-high 26 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in the setback for Keene State, which received 15 points and four boards from senior
James Anozie (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) along with 11 points and four caroms from Santos. Freshman
Mason Jean Baptiste (Lynn, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds for the hosts, who received a near double-double effort of nine points and nine boards from freshman
Nate Siow (Lowell, Mass.) The Owls shot 38 percent (27-71) from the floor overall and held slim margins in paint scoring (42-40) and second chance points (14-13) on the afternoon.
UMass Dartmouth heads to Willimantic, Conn. on Saturday afternoon for the front end of a home-and-home Little East Conference weekend series with Eastern Connecticut that tips-off at 1:00 pm, while Keene State will be idle until Wednesday, February 24
th when the Owls also venture to the Nutmeg State for a Little East clash with Eastern Connecticut that tips-off at 7:00 pm.
