DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Junior
Isaac Percy and senior
John Martins Jr. showed out for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team as they went on to defeat UMass Boston, 88-72, at the Tripp Center.
The Corsairs improve to 6-14 overall and maintain a Little East Conference (LEC) record of 5-6. The Beacons drop to 13-7 overall and are now 6-5 against conference opponents.
Percy tallied a game-high 22 points and did so going a perfect 4-for-4 from long range. Martins Jr. was also feeling it from deep, going 3-for-5 and finishing with 19 points. The guard tandem of
Jayquan Leonard (junior) and
Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer (grad student) had solid games as well. Leonard showed his skills at the point guard by tallying a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. Sanders-Dyer scored 14 points and dished 4 assists.
Senior forward Malik Lorquet led the way for the Beacons with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Emanuel Zayas was the only other scored in double figures for UMass Boston with 12 points.
The Corsairs had one of their best nights of the season from long range. They sunk 10 of their 19 attempts (52.6%) while holding the Beacons to just 4-of-17 (23.5%).
The first half of the contest remained tight, with the Corsairs hanging on to the lead for the first 18 minutes. With two minutes left in the half, UMB took their first lead thanks to a three-pointer from freshman Connor Walden, and a couple buckets from Lorquet and sophomore Malik Brooms. Percy had an answer, however, nailing consecutive threes of his own, including one with less than five seconds on the clock. The late Percy three tied the game up at 39 going into the halftime break.
In the second half, Percy and Martins Jr. opened up a lead for the Corsairs off a few dimes from Leonard. With 10 minutes to go, UMassD flipped the switch on defense. They went on a 20-to-5 run that extended their lead to a game-high 21 points off a smooth layup from sophomore
Bryson Andrews. The Beacons were unable to overcome the deficit with just 5 minutes remaining in the game, and the Corsairs went on to win 88-72.
UMass Dartmouth men's basketball returns to action on Saturday when they go back on the road to conference opponent Southern Maine. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
