BOSTON - Junior Michael Eurquhart, Jr. registered a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team fell short in a low-scoring Little East Conference contest at the University of Massachusetts Boston, 57-47, this evening inside the Clark Athletic Center.
Eurquhart, Jr. led the Corsairs (3-11, 2-4 LEC) with his third double-double of the season and became the first UMass Dartmouth cager to collect at least 19 rebounds in a contest since Arinze Obiora pulled in 20 boards against Salem State on Nov. 11, 2018. Classmate
Isaac Percy also scored 12 points, on 5-for-10 from the field, while fifth-year senior
Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer logged a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Malik Lorquet and Xavier McKenzie accounted for 75 percent of the Beacons (12-3, 5-1 LEC) offensive output. Lorquet scored a game-high 23 points and pulled in 10 rebounds to post his 12th double-double of the season, while McKenzie poured in 20 points for the hosts. Emanuel Zayas dished out six assists to help UMass Boston shot 34.4 percent from the field (22-for-64).
UMass Dartmouth scored the opening point of the contest, but UMass Boston used a 12-3 run to carry a 12-4 advantage. The Corsairs responded with a 9-0 surge that was bookended by Eurquhart, Jr. to regain the lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Beacons extended their lead to six points twice down the stretch, but Sanders-Dyer made the first of two foul shots to send the visitors into the locker room trailing 23-20. UMass Dartmouth struggled from the field in the opening 20 minutes, converting just 25 percent (8-for-32) from the field and 17 percent (4-for-21) from long range.
UMass Boston found its offensive rhythm to start the second half as the visitors utilized a decisive 21-4 run to balloon its advantage to 44-26. Lorquet contributed eight points during the run, while McKenzie scored six and Mariano Rodriguez added five to give the hosts their largest advantage of the contest. However, the Corsairs stormed back with a 12-2 run of their own to whittle the deficit to single digits at 48-40 with six minutes remaining on the clock.
John Marcille ignited the surge with a triple, while Percy knocked down a 3-pointer and a jumper and Eurquhart, Jr. converted a pair of layups. The Beacons stemmed the tide with a Lorquet layup, but Percy followed with a basket and
John Martins Jr. hit the front end of his two attempts at the charity stripe to cut the lead to seven points (50-43). UMass Boston would not let the visitors get any closer as the Beacons closed the contest with eight consecutive points to push the lead back to double digits with less than a minute left in regulation.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 3pm on Saturday, January 14 when the Corsairs travel to Castleton University (3-10, 0-5 LEC) in Little East Conference action.
