Corsairs Nearly Overcome Red-Hot Shooting Night from the Huskies

GORHAM, Maine – Two 20+ point performances Isaac Percy (junior) and Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer (fifth year) was not enough to overcome the hot shooting night for Southern Maine. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team fell, 91-86, in a Little East Conference (LEC) thriller. 
 
The Corsairs slip to 6-15 overall and their record versus conference opponents dips to 5-7, while the Huskies improve to 13-8 and 7-5 against conference opponents.  

UMass Dartmouth's scoring attack was headed by Percy and Sanders-Dyer. Percy scored 24 points on 11-of-16 (68.8%) from the field and 2-for-4 from three. Sanders-Dyer netted 21 and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Seniors John Martins Jr. and Jackson Zancan each tallied 13. 

Southern Maine saw five players put up double-digit points, including a game-high 26 points from junior Chance Dixon. Dixon was a big part of the hot shooting night from the Huskies, going 5-for-9 (55.6%) from deep. Perhaps an even hotter night from long range, freshman guard Mark Asare came off the bench to convert 4-of-5 (80.0%) three balls. As a team, Southern Maine shot 51.2% from the field and a scorching 52.0% from behind the arc. 
 
UMass Dartmouth showed up ready for a shootout and began the game red-hot with a 12-0 run to open things up. Dixon responded for the Huskies by nailing four consecutive long balls. Some buckets from Sanders-Dyer and Martins Jr. kept the Corsairs well ahead despite the scoring surge. Midway through the first half, they led 28-17. 
 
Dixon's fifth three of the half triggered a flurry of threes from the Huskies to take the lead with seven minutes left in the half. After Zancan hit a pair of free-throws and scored inside at the end of the half, the Corsairs went into the break leading 49-45. 
 
Percy and Sanders-Dyer came out the half continuing where they left off, and extended the Corsairs lead up to eight. The Huskies continued to rely on their three-ball, which paid off when Asare hit two more to narrow UMD's lead to three with 11:47 to go. Senior Cody Hawes gave Southern Maine a good couple of minutes, sinking four free-throws and two mid-range jumpers to give them their first lead of the half. 
 
The Corsairs trailed by one after a Sanders-Dyer layup with :32 seconds remaining. Southern Maine freshman Diego Colon sunk all four free-throws the Corsairs gave him, closing out the Huskies' 91-86 victory. 
 
UMass Dartmouth returns to action at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, February 8, when the Corsairs travel to #6 ranked Keene State (21-1, 13-0 LEC).