DANBURY, Conn. – Four players reached double-figures, but it proved not enough as the UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team fell by an 81-71 margin on Saturday in Little East action at Feldman Arena. The Wolves moved to 19-6 overall and 12-4 in conference play, while the Corsairs conclude the season with a 13-12 record, going 7-9 in the LEC.
It was a close match to open the game, neither team leading by more than a couple of points until back-to-back buckets from sophomore guard
Danny Reyes saw the Corsairs own a 15-12 lead at the 11:07 mark. Back and forth lead changes soon turned into a five-point lead (22-17) for the Wolves behind a three from Armaan Sanhu.
The Corsairs worked to get back into it, closing the gap to two as a layup from senior center
Cam Dunbury made it a two-point game with 4:51 to play in the first. Rookie guard
Kordell Philemon then dropped in a layup to tie the game, but a three-point play from Jahlyl Morgan saw the Wolves regain the lead (32-29).
A pair of free throw makes from senior center
Ryan Flauto further closed the gap to one (32-31) at 3:29 and the frame continued to remain close until the Wolves got a layup from Elijah Guillaume to open and eight-point lead (41-33) with 1:10 left to play.
In the second half, with the Wolves up 43-36, the Corsairs got a layup from Reyes to make it a six-point (45-39) game early. WestConn continued to find the bucket, but UMD continued to keep pace as a three-pointer by sophomore guard
Camden DiChiara at 16:05 saw the score move to 49-42.
Reyes went on a run, scoring six straight points to help close the gap to one (54-53) with 12:08 to play, but the Wolves continued to press and reopened the lead to three (58-53) after converting a free throw.
A layup from Flauto made it a 58-57 score and an ensuing layup from DiChiara saw the lead swing in their favor by one (59-58) at the 8:08 mark. Despite the momentum, the Wolves battled back in, finding the net as a three from Tayejon Lynch at 6:21 regained a six-point lead (65-59).
Flauto scored six points over the final four minutes of the game for the Corsairs, but the Wolves proved too strong at the free throw line, taking advantage with six straight makes to conclude the game.
Reyes banked in 18 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals to lead the Corsairs, while Flauto posted a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, adding two assists, two blocks and a steal. DiChiara added 15 points, including four three-pointers, with nine rebounds and an assist, while Philemon had 10 points with a rebound.
