DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team came up short against Rhode Island College, 89-82, on Wednesday night in Little East Conference (LEC) action from the Tripp Athletic Center. The Corsairs move to a 4-6 conference record and 10-9 overall with the loss to the Anchormen who improved to a 6-3 Little East mark.
The Corsairs jumped out to a 4-0 edge thanks to baskets from senior center
Ryan Flauto and sophomore guard
Camden DiChiara. At the 17:30 mark, senior center
Cam Dunbury put UMass Dartmouth ahead 8-2 with a good jump shot. After senior guard
Nic Boyd finished a basket in the paint, the Anchormen connected seven straight points take their first lead of the night at 15-12 approaching the midway point of the opening half.
First year guard
Mahdee McNair drained a triple with 9:05 on the clock to tie the score up at 17-all. Shortly after, first year guard
Jesse Basse laid in his first basket of the game followed by a three-point shot from Boyd to make it 25-24 Anchormen. Trailing 33-28 at the 3:58 mark, Flauto posted two good layups along with two made free throws from DiChiara to narrow the visitors lead down to one-point again. Reyes drilled a pair of triples in the final two minutes, respectively, to knot the score up at 40-apiece entering halftime.
Boyd started the second half strong for UMass Dartmouth, scoring seven of the 11 opening points to put the Corsairs back in the lead at 51-46. Rhode Island battled back with a 12-2 run to regain a 58-53 edge with 11:48 on the clock. Both teams continued to exchange baskets as the Anchormen held on to six-point advantage thanks to a layup by Loudon Chupas. The visitors capitalized from the charity stripe going 4-for-4 along with a good basket from Tyriek Weeks to take a 73-66 lead with less than seven minutes in the contest.
After DiChiara clipped in a jump shot to make it 75-70, Mendez drained back-to-back triples to claim a double-digit advantage over the Corsairs. UMass Dartmouth quickly answered with six straight points featuring four from Dunbury. The Corsairs continued to battle in the final two minutes after making it a one possession game, but the Anchormen held on to secure the win by a final score of 89-82.
DiChiara led the team with 17 points (5-12 FG, 1-6 3FG, 6-6 FT) to go along with five rebounds, two assists, and a team-high three steals. Reyes wrapped up the game with 16 points after going 7-for-11 from the floor including two triples (2-3) as well as five boards, four assists, and a steal. Flauto recorded his seventh double-double after scoring 14 points (7-9 FG) and hauling in 10 rebounds. Dunbury also dropped 14 points (6-10 FG, 2-2 FT) and recorded eight rebounds, four assists, and one block. Boyd produced 12 points (5-13 FG, 2-5 3FG) for the Corsairs along with six boards and three assists.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Eastern Connecticut State on Wednesday, February 4 for their next conference tilt slated for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
