DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team battled against Bates College in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon falling in overtime by a final score of 68-62 from the Tripp Athletic Center. The Corsairs dropped to 5-12 overall on the season while the Bobcats improved to a 9-8 overall record.
The Bobcats opened the scoring with a triple from Sean O'Leary in the first minute of the non-conference tilt. Junior
Ryan Flauto answered with his first bucket of the contest followed by a three-pointer from graduate student
Jayquan Leonard to take a 5-3 edge. Bates pulled away from UMass Dartmouth connecting 11 straight point together to claim a 14-5 lead approaching the midway point of the half.
At the 11:12 mark, junior
John Marcille drained a basket from long range to kick off an 11-0 run for the Corsairs highlighted by a dunk from junior
Cam Dunbury to give the home team a 16-14 advantage. After sophomore forward
Lorenzo Jackson laid in a bucket with 4:34 on the clock, Chiwer Mayen posted a dunk off the lob from Brady Coyne to regain a one-point lead for the visitors. Flauto produced the next six points for UMass Dartmouth nearing the final minute of the half. Leonard banked in a late triple off the feed from Jackson with 16 seconds on the board to give the Corsairs a 27-25 edge heading into halftime.
Bates started the second half strong, going on an early 9-1 run finished off by a three-pointer from Peter Psyhogeos to go up 34-28. DiChiara and Flauto each recorded a bucket in response to cut the Bobcats lead down to 24-32 with 15:41 on the clock. Both teams continued to exchange shots before UMass Dartmouth took back a 44-42 lead thanks to a pair of layups by Flauto with under eight minutes to go in regulation.
An 8-3 run by the Corsairs helped maintain a five-point lead started by a triple from Leonard and finished off with a good driving layup by Marcille. Marc Begin II finished a pair of free throws to make it 52-51 game, but UMass Dartmouth went 3-for-4 from the line to stay ahead 55-51. Bates knocked down two late triples in the last minute of the half, respectively, to send the game into overtime knotted up at 57-apeice.
Marcille recorded the first bucket in overtime for the Corsairs to once again tie the score at 59-59. The Bobcats finished a pair of layups to pulla way with a 64-59 lead, but Marcille quickly answered with a three-pointer off the assist from Leonard to make it one possession game with 19 seconds remaining. Despite the late push, Bates sealed their comeback win, 68-62, after going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the last 14 seconds of action.
Flauto led the squad with 16 points going 7-for-12 from the floor along with 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. DiChiara also posted his first collegiate double-double for the Corsairs with 12 points (4-12 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 3-4 FT) and 10 boards. The first year guard also recorded three steals and an assist after playing a team-high 36 minutes. Marcille scored double figures as well with 11 points going 4-for-7 from the field with a pair of triples (2-5 3-FG) and six rebounds. Leonard posted a season-high three triples (3-4 3-FG) for nine points in the game along with three steals, an assist, and one rebound.
UMass Dartmouth returns to Little East Conference (LEC) action on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Eastern Connecticut State University. The league game is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. from Geissler Gymnasium.
