DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Graduate student
Jake Ashworth and senior
Marcus Azor combined for 59 points in the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's 98-86 Little East Conference (LEC) semifinal victory over Plymouth State Thursday night at the Tripp Athletic Center.
Ashworth caught fire from beyond the arc, matching his career-high of seven 3-pointers to finish with 30 points. Right behind him was Azor, who shot a scintillating 10-of-12 from the field for 29 points with eight rebounds and four assists. Junior
Jackson Zancan was also in double figures with 10 points, while senior
Sean Leahy and sophomore
Isaac Percy each had eight points and senior
Adam Seablom chipped in seven.
2022 marks the 17th LEC championship appearance in program history and third consecutive year. The top-seeded Corsairs (24-3) are going for their lucky 13th conference championship and second in two years. Third-seeded Keene State College is coming to town for a rematch of last year's final after beating second-seeded Eastern Connecticut, 79-56, on the road. This will be the fifth meeting in the championship game between UMass Dartmouth and Keene State. The Corsairs claimed the title over the Owls in 2021, 2001 and 1998, while KSC was victorious in 2016.
After a sluggish opening-round game, the Corsairs came ready to play to send the Panthers (15-12) packing. Ashworth drilled a three right away followed by two more long bombs from Seablom and Zancan to make it a 15-7 lead at the 15:01 mark of the first. Azor kept it going with a pair of midrange jumpers, and the Corsairs utilized the 3-ball to extend their lead. UMass Dartmouth drained seven triples in the final 10 minutes of the half. Three of them were off the hands of Ashworth to give him five in the half, while Percy and Zancan each hit one to make it a 49-30 halftime advantage.
Ashworth connected on his sixth three of the game one minute into the second and Azor scored two baskets in the paint to push the lead to 58-33 with 16:45 to go. Azor got another tough layup to go and Ashworth canned his seventh triple, extending the margin to 54-35 with 15:04 on the clock. Junior
John Martins Jr. got in on the action and Azor sunk his only three of the game, to make it 73-46, with under 10 minutes to play.
Plymouth State did all they could to come back. The Panthers went on a 19-4 run over the next four minutes to close its deficit to 77-65, but that was as close a they would get. Leahy made a clutch layup and Ashworth and Azor were the beneficiary's of late-game free throws to cap things off.
UMass Dartmouth and Keene State meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Tripp Athletic Center for the LEC Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
