DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Despite a game-high 24 points from senior
Isaac Percy, the UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team was outpaced, 103-82, to Western Connecticut in the final game of the 2023-24 regular season on Saturday. The Corsairs finish the regular season with a 14-11 overall record with an 11-5 mark in conference play, finishing third place in the Little East. Meanwhile the Wolves improve to 21-4 overall and 14-2 in the LEC, earning them the second seed and a first-round bye in the LEC Tournament.
These two teams came in with their seedings locked in for the Little East Conference Tournament, giving both of them the opportunity to give valuable minutes to their depth players ahead of the conference tournament.
WestConn saw seven different players score in double-figures, led by senior guard Alfonso Stokes, who tallied 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. The Wolves also saw junior Cameron Gallon put up 15 points on 5 for 8 from the floor and 4 for 4 from the free throw line. Junior Jeremiah Williams shot 7 for 11 from the field for 14 points, and Jaheim Young scored 13 and made 7 of 7 free throws.
The Corsairs were paced by Percy, who posted 24 points on 8 for 12 from the field and 7 for 7 from the free throw line. Sophomore
Nic Boyd tallied 15 points, four rebounds and five assists. 10 of his 18 tries from the field and 6 of his 10 three-point attempts. Senior
Michael Eurquhart Jr. posted 10 points and hauled in seven rebounds on a perfect 4 for 4 from the floor. The Corsairs had eight different players see at least 13 minutes of action.
In the first half, UMass Dartmouth fell behind early, with the Wolves pulling ahead to a 15-point lead at the 9:36 mark of the first half. After a Percy and-one layup at the 8:22 mark, WestConn went on a 13-5 run that put them ahead, 44-24 with 4:28 to go in the opening half. The two and three seeds of the Little East Conference traded buckets to the end of the half, with Western Connecticut going into the locker room with a 56-35 advantage.
The Wolves began the second half with a scoring surge, going on a 16-3 run, putting them up 72-38 at the 16:14 mark of the second half. The run featured six points from Gallon for the Wolves. UMass Dartmouth put a dent into the deficit before the final horn, but ultimately falling to WestConn, 82-103.
The three seed UMass Dartmouth looks forward to hosting the six seed UMass Boston in the first round of LEC Tournament action on Tuesday, February 20th. The Corsairs will face the Beacons, who they swept in the season series, at 6:30pm in the Tripp Athletic Center. Western Connecticut will await the winner of that to host in the conference semifinals on Thursday.
