WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- Freshman
Max Lee's (Norwich, Conn.) three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining in overtime capped a frantic comeback in the closing 14-plus minute to action and lifted Eastern Connecticut to an 87-85 Little East Conference men's basketball victory over UMass Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Geissler Gymnasium.
The host Warriors (4-2, 2-2 LEC) trailed by 21 points with 9:38 remaining in regulation after junior
Adam Seablom's (Lakeville, Mass.) lay-in gave the visiting Corsairs (5-2, 5-2 LEC) a 67-46 advantage, but Eastern Connecticut scored 21 of the game's next 26 points over a 6:12 stretch to close back to within five (72-67) on sophomore
Quinton Lott's (Bridgeport, Conn.) free throw. Senior
Jake Ashworth's (Fairhaven, Mass.) three-pointer on the ensuing possession gave UMass Dartmouth an eight-point cushion, but the Warriors scored 10 unanswered points in a 2:48 span to erase their deficit and take a two-point edge (77-75) on a pair of free throws from freshman
AJ Edwards (New Haven, Conn.) with 19 seconds remaining. Ashworth missed a potential game-winning three-pointer with four seconds left, but sophomore
Jackson Zancan's (Cumberland, R.I.) rebound and putback at the buzzer enabled the visitors to force the extra session.
The Corsairs grabbed a trio of four point leads in the overtime period, the last coming after sophomore
John Martins Jr. (Taunton, Mass.) canned a pair of free throws with 1:39 remaining for an 85-81 edge. But those would prove to be the final points of the day for UMass Dartmouth, as two free throws by junior
Tyreice Woods (Hartford, Conn.) pulled the hosts to within a bucket and set up Lee's game-winning trey. Following a visitor turnover, senior
Cory Muckle (Westbrook, Conn.) added a charity stripe conversion with one second left, and Lee was able to steal the ball off a rebound as the clock ran out to give the Warriors their triumph.
Edwards led all scorers with 24 points and five steals in the win for Eastern Connecticut, which received a double-double effort of 22 points and 12 rebounds from Lott to go with eight points and eight caroms from Muckle. Sophomore
Rakesh Tibby (East Hartford, Conn.) added six points for the Warriors, who shot 44 percent (28-63) from the field overall and held a 24-6 scoring advantage at the foul line.
Seablom notched 23 points and four steals in the setback for UMass Dartmouth, which received 15 points and eight boards from Ashworth along with 13 points and three assists from junior
Sean Leahy (Hanson, Mass.). Martins Jr. added nine points for the Corsairs, who received a combined 15 points from senior
Jarron Santos (East Providence, R.I.) and freshman
Isaac Percy (Pittsfield, Mass.) along with seven rebounds each from Zancan and junior
Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.). The visitors shot 48 percent (35-72) from the floor and held a 39-35 rebounding advantage on the afternoon.
The two teams meet in the back end of a home-and-home Little East Conference weekend set on Sunday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center that tips-off at 1:00 pm EST.
