Corsairs Drop Their Fourth Consecutive Game in the Final Seconds Vs. Bridgewater State

DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team got off to a hot start Wednesday night at the Tripp Athletic Center but a Bridgewater State second half surge handed the Corsairs an 81-79 loss. 

The Corsairs (1-4) had six players score in double figures, while the Bears (6-0) saw four players put up 10-or-more-points.

5th-year Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer led the team with 15 points, while sophomore Theo Jadeite tallied a double-double off the bench for the Corsairs with 13 points and 13 rebounds.  Junior Isaac Percy had 10 points and was just one rebound away from his own double-double. The other double-digit scorers for UMass Dartmouth were seniors John Martins Jr. and Jackson Zancan, along with freshman Nic Boyd.

The Corsairs were feeling themselves at the start of the contest, shooting an impressive 54% from behind the arc. That figure would drop to 33% in the second half. The Bears shot poorly from distance throughout the game, shooting just 26% from three. The difference maker down the stretch was free-throw shooting. UMass Dartmouth was lacking in that department shooting just 53% from the line, versus Bridgewater State's 67%. The Corsair's high-efficiency in the first half propelled them to an early lead, and they would go into halftime up 41-36. 

This game got very physical in the second half, and Zancan got into foul trouble causing him to miss meaningful minutes that hurt the Corsairs. Despite that, the Corsairs remained in front for the majority of the second half.  Bridgewater State responded with a surge of scoring, led by senior Precious Okoh (19 pts.), grad student Emerson Halbleib (18 pts.), and sophomore Quinton Champagne (16 pts.). The Bears would take the lead with just two minutes remaining, on a put-back layup from Halbleib. 

Bridgewater State extended their lead to three after a layup from freshman Dante Kikuba. His classmate Louis Jennings extended the lead to 79-75  after making one of two free throws. With just 18 seconds remaining and now down two scores, the Corsairs' coach Brian Baptiste took a timeout to try to get a quick basket. He did just that after Martins Jr. hit a huge three with 14 seconds remaining. 

Now in a position where the Corsairs had to foul, Okoh was sent to the line for the Bears. He went two-for two from the line and put Bridgewater State up by three with 11 seconds left. Coach Baptiste took another timeout to try to get one more three pointer and hopefully send the game to overtime.

Out of the timeout, Zancan found himself with the ball behind the three point line, and was actually fouled on his shot and given a chance to even the game out with three good free throws with only one second on the game clock. Unfortunately, Zancan missed his second shot, and was forced to miss the last one on purpose in hopes of a last-second tip-in for the Corsairs. The rebound was grabbed by Okoh for the Bears and that would conclude the contest at 81-79.

UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday, when they travel to Medford, Mass. to face Tufts at 1 p.m.