LEWISTON, Maine – Despite double-figures from five different players, the UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team was unable to overcome a late drive by Bates College, falling to the Bobcats by an 88-82 margin in non-conference road action on Sunday. The Bobcats move to 4-0 on the season, while the Corsairs are now 4-2 overall.
First half action saw the homestanding Bobcats jump out to a 6-0 lead behind back-to-back three pointers. Trailing 10-2 with 16:33 to play in the frame, the Corsairs four-point run, including a jumper from rookie guard
Strada Joseph to pull to within 10-6. Bates continued to take advantage at the line, but a layup inside from sophomore guard
Danny Reyes and a free throw make later from
Darius Peterson helped close the gap to 12-9 with 13:26 on the clock.
It was a back-and-forth battle soon after as a jumper from Reyes made it a one-point game (14-13), but buckets on each end kept the score climbing until the second straight basket by sophomore guard
Isaiah Makor closed the score to 19-17 in favor of the Bobcats. The home team used that momentum for another three-point swing, but a shot inside from senior center
Ryan Flauto pulled the score to 22-19 with 9:09 to go.
Down by three, Reyes amped it up, notching a free throw and back-to-back layups to grab the 26-22 lead for the visiting Corsairs. The Bobcats came storming back as consecutive shots from senior center Chiwer Mayen tied the game at 28-all with 6:26 remaining. The two teams continued to battle, neither leading by more than a point as the lead continued to shift back and forth with five different ties.
A dunk by Flauto put the Corsairs ahead 39-37 with 1:31, but the Bobcats countered seconds later on a three from junior forward Babacar Pouye, regaining the lead as a layup from sophomore guard Keenan Sparks pushed the margin to 42-39 with 42 seconds left in the half. The Corsairs tied the contest once again, sending the squads into the locker room with a 42-42 tie on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Joseph.
Second half action continued much like the first as a pair of makes at the free throw line by Reyes saw the Corsairs take a 48-47 lead at 17:15. The momentum continued to shift back-and-forth with Pouye nailing a jumper at 14:15 to regain a 55-51 lead for the home team. Later, trailing 57-53, senior guard
Nic Boyd drained a three to make it a one-point (57-56) game, but the score continued to sway in either direction for the advantage.
A pair of free throw makes, coupled with a three-pointer by Makor and a Flauto layup helped make it a 65-62 lead with 9:45 to play, but the Bobcats answered once more as a Sparks layup at 6:26 tied the score once again at 71-all. UMD battled back once again, but Bates answered, locking the two teams in a 75-75 score with 4:58 remaining.
The Bobcats got a three from Coyne to reopen a three-point lead (78-75) at 4:07, but a jumper from Joseph, coupled with a three-pointer from Boyd saw the Corsairs regain an 80-78 advantage with 2:25 left on the clock. Bates answered yet again with another trey from Coyne to open an 83-82 advantage with 1:11 to go.
Following timeouts from both sides, the Bobcats took advantage of a Corsair foul, seeing Pouye nail both shots from the line, widening the gap to 85-82 with 50 seconds left in the game. Working to regain possession, UMD used a foul, sending Bates to the line where rookie guard Jamari Robinson capitalized on both shots for a five-point (87-82) lead with 17 seconds to go. The visitors were unable to regain possession as Robinson hit another free throw with five seconds left, sealing the 88-82 victory for the Bobcats.
Leading the way for UMass Dartmouth was Flauto and Reyes, each recording 20 points in the contest, with Flauto going 6-for-10 (60%) from the field for a season-high. He added five rebounds with an assist, four blocks and two steals, while Reyes was 6-of-7 from the free throw line, adding four boards, five assists and two steals.
Makor finished with a season-high 11 points, going 4-fo-5 (80.0%) from the field, adding a team-high eight rebounds and game-high three steals. Boyd and senior center
Cam Dunbury each had 10 points in the game with Boyd adding a game-best six assists.
UMass Dartmouth will head into the Thanksgiving break and return to action on Wednesday, December 3 in a 7:30pm Little East opener at Rhode Island College.
