DARTMOUTH, Mass. -Â Junior
John Martins Jr.'s tip-in with 1:01 remaining in the game sealed the deal as the top-seeded University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team held off a tough eighth-seeded Southern Maine team, 81-75, Tuesday night at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The Corsairs upgrade to 23-3 on the year and advance to the semifinals on Thursday, while the Huskies end their season at 10-17 overall. Graduate student
Jake Ashworth led the team in scoring with 19 points. Senior
Marcus Azor did it all with 18 points, seven assists, four steals, three blocks and three rebounds. Also in double figures were senior
Adam Seablom with 13 points, and seven boards and junior
Jackson Zancan with 10 points. Senior
Sean Leahy was solid with eight points and nine rebounds.
Five players scored in double figures for Southern Maine. Junior Cody Hawes, and sophomores Chance Dixon and Trevor Ward all finished with 14 points.
The early going made it look like how the first two meetings between the teams went. Azor went behind the back and hit a step-back jumper to get it started, and Seablom, Zancan and Ashworth each nailed 3-pointers to make it a 14-4 advantage with 15:45 on the clock. Southern Maine answered with a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to 14-11 just two minutes later. The Huskies stayed with the Corsairs for the remainder of the half, not allowing UMassD to take a double-digit lead.
After an Ashworth three and a pair of layups by Seablom and Leahy put UMass Dartmouth up 30-21 with 6:25 left in the half, Southern Maine went on a 6-0 run make it a three-point game. Ashworth connected on a another triple, followed by five straight points from Azor, and a bucket inside by Leahy extended the lead to 40-34 at halftime.
Southern Maine came its closest in the beginning of the second, outscoring the Corsairs 11-6 in the first two-plus minutes to make it 46-45 with 17:04 to go. An Azor steal and breakaway slam energized the Tripp Athletic Crowd to spark a 20-8 run, making it a 66-53 game with 9:29 remaining. Azor had six points in the spurt, while sophomore
Isaac Percy hit a triple, and sophomore
Mike Eurquhart and Leahy also scored.
The Corsairs looked to have the game in control, maintaining a 12-point, 74-62, advantage with 3:17 in the game. Southern Maine would not go away, rattling off the next nine points to cut its deficit to 74-71 with 1:20 on the clock. Martins Jr. then came through with his clutch tip-in and Azor had a monster block as UMass Dartmouth hung on for the win.
UMass Dartmouth hosts the No. 4 seed Plymouth State Panthers in the semifinal round at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
