DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a 23-point game from senior
Isaac Percy, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team defeated VTSU Castleton, 73-72, in a nailbiter in Dartmouth. The Corsairs stay red hot, claiming their sixth straight to improve to 7-5 overall after a 1-5 start to their season. They remain perfect in conference play at 4-0, while the Spartans dip to 4-9 overall and remain winless at 0-4 against conference opponents.
It was UMass Dartmouth who claimed an early lead, on top 24-18 midway through the first half. Percy got hot early, scoring 11 points in the first five minutes of play. Sophomore
Josh Lopes went on a scoring spree featuring two layups and a three-pointer that gave the Corsairs a 34-18 lead at the 8:01 mark. The Spartans fought their way back quick, claiming their first lead of the night with 3:57 to go in the half after a pair of threes from their graduate students, Joe Russell and Scott Lampron.
Percy and fifth year senior
Jackson Zancan closed out the half for the Corsairs, scoring the final eight points for UMass Dartmouth. Russell hit a three at the end of the half, but the Corsairs went into the break leading, 42-40.
The second half was very competitive, with neither team extending a 10+ point lead at any point. UMass Dartmouth got close with 14:03 on the clock, when a three from senior
Jayquan Leonard put them up by nine. VTSU Castleton responded immediately with a 9-0 run, featuring five points from freshman Zach Thompson. The Spartans tied the game up at 54-54 with 11:04 remaining.
UMass Dartmouth sophomore
Nic Boyd responded by sinking two three-pointers that put the Corsairs back up by six with 8:07 to go. The Spartans got hot from deep in the second half, and got two big ones from freshman Adam Bilodeau and senior Justin Schwarzbeck that gave them a two-point lead at the 4:58 mark.
Boyd hit another huge three that reclaimed the lead for the Corsairs. Both squads continued to trade baskets down the stretch, with four lead-changes in a two-minute stretch. While leading 69-68 with two minutes left, Zancan was sent to the line and converted on both his attempts. A layup from Russell cut the lead back to one before a Percy jumper retook the three-point margin.
With :31 seconds on the clock, Russell converted on another layup, cutting the lead back to one. Castleton attempted to fight their way back in with late fouls, and were successful in causing two stops on missed free-throws. The Spartans had a chance with the ball down by one at the end of regulation, but the UMass Dartmouth defense was stifling when it needed it most, and got the stop as they claimed the one-point victory, 73-72.
Leading the way for UMass Dartmouth was Percy with 23 points and five rebounds while going 4 for 10 from deep. Zancan recorded four rebounds and three assists along with 16 points on 6 of 13 from the floor. Lopes scored 14, shooting 5 for 9 from the field and 2 for 5 from deep. Lopes also added four rebounds and four assists. Boyd added nine points off the bench on 3 for 8 from three-point range. One big advantage the Corsairs held in this one was on the offensive glass, where they hauled in 16 boards and scored 18 points on second-chance opportunities.
Leading the way for the Spartans was Russell with a game-high 25 points on 11 of 19 from the floor and 2 for 3 from deep. Russell also recorded five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Thompson, Lampron, Biloseau and sophomore Will Radcliff scored in double-figures for VTSU Castleton. Lampron went 3 for 2 from long range and Radcliff recorded six rebounds and seven assists. The Spartans were lights-out from three-point range, going 9 for 17 (52.9%) as a team.
UMass Dartmouth stays put to host UMass Boston on Tuesday, January 9th. The Little East Conference rivals clash at 6:00PM at the Tripp Athletic Center.
