WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Five Corsairs on the UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team dropped double figures to defeat Eastern Connecticut State University, 94-84, in Little East Conference action on Tuesday afternoon. The Corsairs picked up their second conference win of the season to move to a 2-1 league record while the Warriors fall to a 1-2 mark in the Little East.
Sophomore guard
Danny Reyes posted the opening four points for UMass Dartmouth to give the squad an early 4-2 edge over the Warriors. Shortly after, senior center
Cam Dunbury dunked his first basket of the game before first year guard
Mahdee McNair added two more points to take an 8-2 lead. Pulling away with a 14-4 advantage, senior guard
Nic Boyd finished a good jumper to keep the Corsairs ahead 16-9 with 13:24 on the clock.
Approaching the midway point of the opening half, senior center
Ryan Flauto produced a pair of baskets in the paint to maintain a seven-point lead. After Reyes drained the first triple for UMass Dartmouth, Dunbury tallied his second block of the contest to deny a shot by Julian Sanchez. Sophomore guard
Camden DiChiara and Boyd each knocked down a three-point shot to extend the Corsairs lead to 38-25. The Warriors narrowed the lead down to nine points, but Boyd responded with another triple along with an and-one play from McNair to finish the first half up 48-39.
Both teams exchanged early baskets to start the second half of the game featuring four early points from Boyd. Reyes kicked off a 9-2 run with a good jump shot to put UMass Dartmouth ahead 63-47. Eastern Connecticut State fought back with a 7-1 run highlighted by a triple from Sanchez to make it 64-54. Reyes answered with an and-one play before the Warriors cut the Corsairs advantage down to eight points with 10 minutes left in the contest.
Shortly after first year guard
Kordell Philemon finished a basket from the free throw line for his first point as a Corsair, DiChiara nailed a three-pointer claim a 76-63 lead. DiChiara continued to tack on five more points in a 7-1 run crossing into the last five minutes of action. UMass Dartmouth finished the game strong as Flauto posted two dunks in the final minute of play to cement the Corsairs road victory by a final score of 94-82.
DiChiara led the team with 20 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3FG, 5-5 FT) to go along with two steals, one rebound, and a block. Flauto had an impressive performance after going 9-for-9 from the field for 19 points including six rebounds and a pair of steals. Reyes finished the game with 17 points (6-11 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4-7 FT) and a game-high eight assists. Boyd dropped 16 points (7-14 FG, 2-6 3FG) while McNair rounded out the Corsairs in double figures with 13 points (5-10 FG, 3-5 FT) along with a season-high eight boards.
UMass Dartmouth hosts UMass Boston for their next conference tilt on Thursday, January 8
th slated for a 6:00 p.m. start time.
