DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Backed by double-digit efforts from four players, including a game-high 21 points from both
Nic Boyd and
Danny Reyes, the UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team defeated Keene State, 88-71 in Little East action on Wednesday. The victory moves the Corsairs to 12-10 overall and 6-7 in conference play, while the Owls are now 12-10 with an 8-5 mark in the LEC.
It was a tight battle to open the game as Keene nabbed a 13-8 lead following a three-pointer from Liam Johnston at 14:07. The Corsairs countered as a free throw make from sophomore guard
Danny Reyes spilled into a three-pointer from senior guard
Darius Peterson to close the gap to 13-12 at 13:09.
UMD grabbed the lead less than two minutes later as a jumper from senior center
Ryan Flauto pushed the home team into a one-point lead (14-13) at the 11:50 mark. The visitors came back to later tie it 15-all and the teams continued to trade buckets until a layup from senior center
Cam Dunbury, coupled with a pair of free throw makes from sophomore guard
Camden DiChiara opened a 22-18 margin at 8:03.
The lead continued to shift back-and-forth until a Reyes jumper at 3:29 expanded the advantage to 32-27 for the home squad. Keene State continued to answer, narrowing the margin to two (34-32) with 2:02 to go on a pair of free throws, but the Corsairs capitalized at the free throw line themselves and added a Dunbury layup with seven seconds left for a 42-37 halftime lead.
In the second half of action, Keene State came out swinging as Cooper tied the game at 42-all early in the frame. The Corsairs responded nabbing four straight points to open a 46-42 advantage 17:23, including a layup from DiChiara.
A 8-0 run by the Corsairs, including four straight points from Dunbury, saw the home team open a 54-46 margin at 14:23, but the Owls responded as back-to-back shots from Cooper closed the margin to 58-54 with 11:24 remaining. Reyes capitalized for UMD with a three-point swing to give the home team a 63-54 advantage minutes later.
The Corsairs continued to power through as success at the free throw line from Reyes, coupled with a three pointer from senior guard
Nic Boyd saw UMD open a 77-64 lead with 4:02 to go. The Owls answered with a pair of free throws of their own to narrow the gap to 10 (79-69), but consecutive three-pointers from DiChiara pushed the lead to 85-69 with under two minutes to go. Another three-pointer, this one from Boyd sealed the victory for the Corsairs.
Boyd's 21 points came on 8-of-15 from the floor, adding five assists and three rebounds with a steal. Reyes went 6-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the line, completing the double-double with 13 rebounds and three assists with two steals. DiChiara added 20 points, going 3-for-5 from the three-point line, also posting the double-double with 12 rebounds, an assist, two blocks and three steals.
Rounding out the efforts was Dunbury, who posted 13 points with nine rebounds and a game-high five blocks.
The Corsairs are back in action on Saturday, welcoming Southern Maine to the Tripp Athletic Center for a 3pm tip-off. The game also marks Senior Day for the five graduating Corsairs.
