DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team erased a 10-point second-half deficit, but were unable to overcome MIT in an 87-81 loss on Wednesday. The Corsairs drop their season opener and fall to 0-1, while the Engineers come away 1-0 after their first game.
The Corsairs saw some good things early on from their returners. Senior
Isaac Percy scored the first five points of the game for UMD with a quick three and a layup. The Corsairs' bigs dominated the interior early on, with grad student
Jackson Zancan and senior
Michael Eurquhart Jr. controlling the paint. Following a Zancan layup with ten minutes left in the half, the Corsairs claimed a seven-point lead, their highest of the game.
The Engineers fought back prior to halftime, re-taking the lead with six minutes to go in the first half on back-to-back long balls from sophomore Tim Minicozzi and junior Spencer Lin. Some of the Corsairs' key starters found themselves in foul trouble early, and MIT was able to extend their leaf to 36-28 after one half.
Both teams appeared to be shaking off some cobwebs in their opening game, with the Engineers shooting 50% from the field in the first half and the Corsairs shooting just 38%.
The second half kicked off with a three-ball from senior Luke Wagner that extended the MIT lead to 11. Wagner's three was immediately answered by UMass Dartmouth's sophomore archer
Nic Boyd, who nailed two in a row to cut the lead to 39-34 in the opening minutes of the second half.
MIT's shooting improved in the second half, as they were able to pull ahead to their largest lead of the game after a Michael Zhang (freshman) three-pointer put them up 13 points. Trailing double-digits with 12 minutes to go in regulation, the Corsairs began their battle back into the contest. An Eurquhart slam dunk caused a roar from the crowd as the momentum was beginning to shift in UMD's favor. UMass Dartmouth freshman
Josh Lopes fed off the home crowd and hit a pull-up jumper, followed by a huge deep ball that tied the game at 54-54 with 10 minutes remaining.
Both sides reached the bonus early in the second half, and the final five minutes of the game were full of fouls and free throws for either side. The Engineers shot 12-14 from the charity stripe in the second half, which helped them reclaim and hold on to a late lead, as MIT prevailed 88-81.
Lopes shined in his first game as a Corsair. He recorded five assists in addition to a game-leading 27 points, going 11-21 from the field and 3-6 from three. Three other Corsairs added double-digit points in Boyd, Percy, and sophomore
John Marcille. Marcille went 3-5 from long range and 5-6 from the free throw line. Zancan posted a near triple-double with nine points and 13 rebounds. The Corsairs held a 12-6 advantage in second-chance points.
MIT also saw four players score in double-figures. They were led by Lin's 23 points, as well as freshman Merlin Gogolin who added 18 of his own. The Engineer's bench out-scored the Corsairs' 36-16.
The UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team takes the road to Waltham on Saturday for a meeting with Brandeis University. Tipoff is slated for 6PM.
