CASTLETON, Vt. – The UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team secured their fourth conference win of the season with a 70-56 road victory over Vermont State University Castleton on Saturday afternoon from the Glenbrook Gym. The Corsairs improved to 4-5 in conference play and 10-8 overall while the Spartans fell to a 0-8 league record.
The Corsairs jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after sophomore guard
Camden DiChiara drained a triple to open the scoring. After Adam Bilodeau knocked down a three-point shot to get the Spartans on the scoreboard, DiChiara added another three points after completing three free throws to grab a 10-3 edge. First year guard
Mahdee McNair clipped in the third triple for UMass Dartmouth off the feed from senior guard
Nic Boyd at the 16:53 mark to extend the Corsairs to a 15-7 advantage.
After a quiet few minutes, senior center
Ryan Flauto posted a pair of baskets to go ahead 19-10 approaching the midway point of the opening half. VTSU Castleton came alive with a 13-0 run to claim a 23-19 lead with 7:05 on the clock. The Corsairs responded by stringing eight straight points together highlighted by a triple apiece from Boyd and first year guard
Jesse Basse to regain a 27-23 edge. Flauto produced four late points for the Corsairs to hold a 31-29 advantage heading into halftime.
UMass Dartmouth outscored VTSU Castleton early in the second half with a 6-2 run, featuring a basket from sophomore guard
Danny Reyes, to maintain a six-point lead. Trailing 38-37 after a three-point shot from Will Radcliff, Flauto tacked on two layups before DiChiara sank another triple to go ahead 44-42 at the 11:56 mark. About a minute later, UMass Dartmouth took a 50-45 lead thanks to DiChiara completing a four-point play.
At the 8:11 mark, Radcliff knotted the score up at 50-all with a pair of free throws to finish a 5-0 run. Both teams exchanged baskets until the Corsairs generated a 10-run featuring four points from Flauto and a triple from Boyd to extend their lead to 63-52 entering the final two minutes of action. UMass Dartmouth sealed their fourth conference win of the season with a late 7-0 push to secure a 70-56 victory over the Spartans on the road.
Flauto led the team with a season-high 26 points after posting a career-high 13 made field goals (13-18) to go along with six rebounds, one assist, and a steal. DiChiara scored 18 points (4-10 FG, 4-8 3FG, 6-6 FT) in the win in addition to recording five boards, two steals, and an assist. Boyd also finished the game in double figures with 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-4 3FG) with four assists and one rebound. Reyes led the squad in rebounds (8), assists (5), and steals (3) after posting six points against the Spartans.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Rhode Island College for their next conference tilt on Wednesday, January 28 starting at 7:30 p.m. from the Tripp Athletic Center.
