Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Junior
Marcus Azor (Brockton, Mass.) registered a career-high 29 points, including 18 in the second half, to lead top-seeded UMass Dartmouth to a 93-89 victory over fourth-seeded Rhode Island College in the semifinals of the Little East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament this evening at the Tripp Athletic Center.
UMass Dartmouth (7-2) will square off against second-seeded Keene State College (6-2) at 6pm on Thursday, March 4 in the Little East Conference Tournament Championship game. The Owls edged third-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University 80-79 on Friday night. Rhode Island College saw its season come to an end with a 1-6 mark.
Azor nearly posted a double-double to lead four Corsairs in double digits in scoring. The Brockton, Mass. product shot 11-for-19 from the field, including 3-for-4 from long range, and pulled in a team-high nine rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Junior
Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer (Worcester, Mass.) came off the bench to score 17 points, while senior
Adam Seablom (Lakeville, Mass.) and junior
Matt Valles (Fairhaven, Mass.) each netted 10 points.
Freshman Dante Law (Taunton, Mass.) delivered a career-high 35 points, including seven 3-pointers, and hauled in 14 rebounds pace the Anchormen. Sophomore Shion Darby (Peekskill, N.Y.) registered 26 points, while freshman Ousmane Kourouma (Woonsocket, R.I.) posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards. Classmate Jordan Riley (Windsor, Conn.) rounded out RIC's quartet in double digits with 10 points.
UMass Dartmouth gained control of the opening 20 minutes as Valles bookended an 8-2 run to give the Corsairs their first double-digit lead of the contest, 26-15. Both teams exchanged baskets on the next two possessions before senior guard
Jarron Santos (East Providence, R.I.) knocked down a triple to give the hosts their largest advantage of the half at 31-19. Law keyed the Anchormen's 8-2 surge with back-to-back three-pointers to cut the visitors deficit to six (33-27). Rhode Island College carried the momentum to the intermission break as Darby sandwiched a pair of makes between freshman guard Jared White's (North Plainfield, N.J.) fast-break layup to whittle the deficit to 43-40 after 20 minutes of play.
UMass Dartmouth tried to stem the tide with an Azor put-back to open the second stanza, but Law accounted for eight of the Anchormen's next 10 points to take their first lead since the early stages of the contest. Senior
Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, Mass.) stopped the run with a three-pointer. The Corsairs broke open a one-possession lead with a 16-4 run midway through the second half to regain control of the contest. Sanders-Dyer connected twice from downtown, while Azor chipped in with six points to give UMass Dartmouth a game-high 14-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining. Rhode Island College would not go quietly as the Anchormen cut their deficit to a single possession with 29 ticks on the clock. However, the Corsairs made three of their four attempts down the stretch to keep the Anchormen at arm's length distance.
UMass Dartmouth will be making its 16th appearance in the Little East Conference Tournament Championship game. The Corsairs are seeking their 12th title and first since 2009. UMass Dartmouth and Keene State will be meeting for the fourth time in the conference finals with the Corsairs holding a 2-1 advantage.
