CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -Â The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team erased a 10-point second-half deficit, but could not take a lead as MIT held on for a 97-91 victory Saturday afternoon at the Rockwell Cage.
The Corsairs drop to 1-2, while the Engineers improve to 2-2.
5th-year senior
Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer netted a career-high 26 points with four 3-pointers and five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior
Jackson Zancan tallied 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and blocked two shots, while junior
Isaac Percy posted a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds with four assists. Sophomore
Theo Jadotte finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes and freshman
Nic Boyd finished with 10 points.
Scoring went back-and-forth in the first half. Boyd hit the first two shots for UMass Dartmouth as every point was either in the paint or a free throw until Sanders-Dyer sunk a midrange jumper to make it an 18-16 deficit at the 10:30 mark.
Inside buckets by Jadotte and senior
John Martins Jr. evened the score at 20, then 10 quick points from Sanders Dyer and five by Zancan built the UMass Dartmouth lead to 35-30 with 4:26 on the clock. MIT responded with a 19-5 run to close the half and retake a 49-40 advantage.
After the Engineers went up, 52-42, at the start of the second half, Zancan canned seven points and Sanders-Dyer knocked down a three to keep the deficit at 67-59 with 11:20 to go.Â
Inside baskets by Martins Jr., Jadotte and Sanders-Dyer after a steal suddenly made it a 67-66 game with 9:37 on the clock. MIT would go back up by as many as eight and cling to a slim lead for the next eight minutes as UMass Dartmouth chipped away. 3-pointers from Zancan and Percy and a layup from junior
Jayquan Leonard cut the score to 92-91 with 53 seconds left. Down three in the final minute with the ball, a costly turnover sent the Engineers to the free throw line and they made their shots to close things out.
UMass Dartmouth is back at home on Tuesday night when it hosts Brandeis at 7 p.m.
