DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a three-point shooting spectacle, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team defeated Plymouth State, 96-77, in their second Little East Conference matchup of the season. The Corsairs improved to 3-5 and begin their conference schedule 2-0. The Panthers dip to 4-6 overall and drop to 0-3 in conference play.
UMass Dartmouth opened the game with defensive intensity, causing Plymouth State to turn the ball over seven times before getting a shot up. The full-court press helped the Corsairs get out to a 15-0 lead at the 15:48 mark. UMD had an outstanding day shooting the ball from deep, and the threes began flying early. Graduate student
Jackson Zancan hit the first of the day, followed by two in a row from senior
Isaac Percy within that 15-point stretch.
Plymouth State started to get some points on the board and narrow the gap before sophomore
John Marcille caught fire. Marcille nailed three long-balls in the first half that built onto the Corsair lead. Senior
Jayquan Leonard had a great game on both sides of the ball and sunk a three of his own early on. Plymouth State senior Kyler Bosse scored an and-one to bring the Panthers within 20 going into the half.
Plymouth State opened up the second half scoring five unanswered, narrowing the gap down to just 15 points, but that would be the closest they would get the rest of the way. The Corsairs' hot shooting night continued into the second half. Zancan hit another long-ball, sandwiched between two three-pointers from sophomore
Josh Lopes. Next was Percy's turn, as hit his third and fourth threes of the game to go up 80-58 with 10 minutes remaining.
The Corsairs put a punctuation mark on their big game with a few late steals leading to transition buckets. Senior
Michael Eurquhart Jr. capped off a steal with a slam off a beautiful feed from Leonard. Bosse had a big day for the Panthers, as he continued to add to his total to keep Plymouth State within 20. UMass Dartmouth finished on top, 96-77.
The Corsairs' defense was stifling, causing 15 turnovers that led to 11 fast break points. UMass Dartmouth sunk 17 total threes on just 28 attempts for a 60.7% three-point efficiency. to just 28.8% for the game. 17 threes marks the program's most in a game since the 2021-22 season when the Corsairs sunk 18 threes against WestConn.
UMass Dartmouth was led by a committee of scorers. Lopes led the team with 22 along with four rebounds and three assists while going 3 for 5 from deep. Marcille was right behind him with 20 points, shooting 4 of 6 from three and hauling in eight rebounds. Percy scored 19 and went 7 for 10 from the field and a perfect 4 for 4 from deep. Zancan also went 7 for 10 from the floor on his way to 18 points on 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Leonard handled the ball well and totaled 13 assists.
For the Panthers, Bosse finished with a game-high 28 points while securing seven rebounds and going a perfect 8 for 8 from the charity stripe. Grad student Giorgi Tsiklauri put up 13 points on 6 of 10 from the field. The Panthers bench outscored the Corsairs, 32-25.
UMass Dartmouth has a sizeable break after beginning 2023-24 conference schedule 2-0. They will return to action on December 29 to tip off the Saint Joseph (Conn.) Tournament. They will face Wentworth on the 29
thbefore meeting the hosting University of Saint Joseph on the 30
th.
