DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Junior
Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.) scored 23 points and dished out eight assists to lead UMass Dartmouth to an 85-72 Little East Conference men's basketball victory over Rhode Island College Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The host Corsairs (3-0, 3-0 LEC) built a 12-point (37-25) lead late in the opening half on a lay-in by senior
Jarron Santos (East Providence, R.I.) with 3:36 remaining, but the visiting Anchormen (1-2, 1-2 LEC) scored the final six points before intermission to trail by a 37-31 margin at the break. Rhode Island College continued its run in the opening 1:58 of the second half, as freshman
Ousmane Kourouma's (Woonsocket, R.I.) lay-in capped 15 unanswered points to give the visitors a 40-37 cushion, and the two squads traded the lead four times before UMass Dartmouth forged a 58-58 tie with 10:37 to play on junior
Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer's (Worcester, Mass.) lay-in. Junior
Adam Seablom's (Lakeville, Mass.) three-pointer midway through the frame jumpstarted a decisive 15-0 Corsair run that was capped by Azor's triple with 6:33 remaining, as the hosts built their advantage to as much as 18 points in the closing minutes to remain unbeaten on the young season.
Seablom added 15 points and eight rebounds in the triumph for the Corsairs, who received 11 points and three assists from Sanders-Dyer along with nine points and four steals from Santos. Senior
Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, Mass.) collected eight points and five boards for UMass Dartmouth, which received six points from junior
Matt Valles (Fairhaven, Mass.) and seven caroms each from junior
Sean Leahy (Hanson, Mass.) and sophomore
Jackson Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.). The hosts shot 46 percent (32-69) from the field and connected for 12 three-pointers, as the Corsairs held a 46-42 rebounding edge and a 35-7 edge in bench scoring on the afternoon.
Freshman
Jordan Riley (Windsor, Conn.) scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded five steals in the setback for Rhode Island College, which received 19 points, five boards and four assists from sophomore
Shion Darby (Peekskill, N.Y.). Kourouma added a double-double effort of 12 points and 11 caroms for the Anchormen, who received 10 points and six rebounds from freshman
Dante Law (Taunton, Mass.). The visitors shot 39 percent (28-72) from the floor but connected on just 3-of-19 attempts from behind the arc, as Rhode Island College held a 51-41 scoring edge in the paint and converted 15 UMass Dartmouth turnovers into 20 points.
The two teams meet again on Wednesday evening in a Little East Conference clash to be played in Providence, R.I. at 6:30 pm.
