DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth outlasted the University of Southern Maine, 98-96, during a Little East Conference (LEC) tilt on Thursday evening, paced by a double-double performance from junior
Ryan Flauto. The Corsairs clinch back-to-back conference victories to improve to a 2-4 league record while the Huskies suffer their fourth loss in conference action.
Junior
John Marcille knocked down an early triple for the Corsairs off the assist from classmate
Josh Lopes to give the team a 5-3 edge in the opening minutes of the game. UMass Dartmouth went on a 14-4 run highlighted by a three-pointer from junior
Nic Boyd and Lopes to give the home team a 19-9 advantage with 15:16 left in the first half. Thomas Whelan scored eight of the next 10 points for the Huskies to cut UMass Dartmouth's lead down to 21-19 at the midway point.
Southern Maine capitalized on their momentum shift to claim a 29-23 edge over UMass Dartmouth thanks to a 10-2 run with 7:55 on the clock. First year
Camden DiChiara, who was named LEC Rookie of the Week, sank his first triple of the evening to tie the score up at 31-apeice. Flauto came alive shortly after posting seven points before Boyd and graduate student
Isaac Percy each drained a three-pointer to once again knot the game up at 45-45. Diego Colon hit a buzzer-beating triple for the Huskies to keep the score deadlocked at 50-apeice.
Both teams exchanged baskets to open the second half of the contest with Marcile and Boyd each banking in a three-pointer. At the 13:51 mark, graduate student
Jayquan Leonard drilled a triple off the feed from Percy to give the Corsairs a 67-61 edge. Whelan briefly gave the Huskies a one-point lead after finishing an and-one play approaching the last 10 minutes of the game.
The Corsairs continued to battle against the Huskies tying the game up four times with under five minutes remaining. After Evans Sterling put Southern Maine ahead 92-91, Flauto quickly answered dropping the next six points for the Corsairs to regain a 97-94 lead with 1:14 on the clock. Whelan finished a late driving layup to bring the Huskies within one point, but Lopes went 1-for-2 at the line to cement a 98-96 win over Southern Maine from the Tripp Athletic Center.
Boyd dropped 23 points in the win going 8-for-14 from the field, his first 20-plus point game on the season, recording a career-high seven made three-pointers (7-13 3-FG). He also grabbed four rebounds, one assist, and a steal in the win. Flauto earned his fifth career double-double after scoring 17 points and hauling in 12 boards. Marcille (4-15 FG, 3-12 3-FG, 3-4 FT), Percy (5-11 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 2-2 FT), and Lopes (6-15 FG, 1-6 3-FG, 1-3 FT) all scored 14 points apiece for the Corsairs combining for 18 rebounds, 11 assists, and five steals.
UMass Dartmouth are on the road for their next conference showdown against Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, Jan. 18. The game is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff from the William A. O'Neill Center.
