KEENE, N.H. – The UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team were bested by conference-leading Keene State College, 100-90, in Little East Conference (LEC) action on Wednesday night from the Spaulding Gymnasium. The Owls, who were receiving votes in the D3hoops.com poll this week, moved to a 14-1 conference record while the Corsairs dropped to a 6-9 mark in the Little East.
Mitch Shettles knocked down a pair of triples to start a 12-0 opening run for Keene State in the first four minutes of play, respectively. Graduate student guard
Isaac Percy disrupted the Owls momentum after clipping in his first three-pointer of the night to put the Corsairs on the scoreboard. UMass Dartmouth then generated 7-0 run kicked off by a triple from junior guard
John Marcille to cut Keene State's advantage down to 14-10. At the 13:02 mark, graduate student guard
Jayquan Leonard scored his first points of the contest followed by a Percy layup to make it a 19-16 game.
Trailing 25-16 near the midway point of the first half, sophomore guard
Trent Santos and Marcille each drained a triple to bring UMass Dartmouth within six points of Keene State. Graduate student forward
Michael Eurquhart Jr. posted his third bucket of the night before junior center
Ryan Flauto added four points to make it 39-31 with 4:34 remaining in the half. The Owls finished off the last two minutes of the opening half with a 9-2 run to take a 13-point cushion heading into the break.
Flauto registered the opening six points of the second half for UMass Dartmouth with all three buckets scored in the paint. With the Owls holding on to a 68-48 lead, first year
Camden DiChiara started a 10-0 run for the Corsairs and finished it with a shot from long range to cut Keene State's advantage to 10 points. The home team quickly pulled away again taking a 79-63 edge over UMass Dartmouth after Ryan Blakey tipped in a bucket with 8:24 on the clock.
Leonard finished a driving layup at the 5:41 mark which was followed by a good jumper from Flauto to make it 89-73. DiChiara nailed a triple off the assist from junior guard
Nic Boyd before junior center
Cam Dunbury finished an and-one play for his first points of the night. Shortly after entering the contest, junior guard
Darius Peterson clipped in a late three-point for the Corsairs, but the Owls went on to cement their home win by final score of 100-90.
Flauto led the squad with 27 points going 10-for-1 from the floor featuring one made three-point field goal (1-1) and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. He also recorded six rebounds and an assist for the Corsairs. Santos posted 15 points (4-10 FG, 4-7 3-FG, 3-5 FT) to go along with two boards, one assist, and a steal. DiChiara also scored in double digits with 10 points (4-15 FG, 2-8 3-FG) with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Marcille ended the night with a team-high two steals along with eight points, four rebounds, and an assist.
UMass Dartmouth returns home for the final regular season game of the 2024-25 campaign hosting Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Corsairs will honor three graduating student-athletes prior to the 3:00 p.m. tipoff during the Senior Day ceremony from the Tripp Athletic Center.
