PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team outlasted Plymouth State University, 74-72, in Little East Conference (LEC) action on Saturday afternoon from the Foley Gymnasium. The Corsairs improved to 5-7 conference record and 11-10 overall on the season while the Panthers dropped to a 2-10 Little East mark.
The Corsairs grabbed an early 6-0 lead to start the conference tilt thanks to seniors
Nic Boyd and
Cam Dunbury posting a basket apiece and first year guard
Kordell Philemon adding two free throws. Sophomore guard
Camden DiChiara and senior center
Ryan Flauto each laid in their first baskets to extend the Corsairs advantage to 12-5 with 14:35 on the clock. A few minutes later, Philemon finished a driving layup to double UMass Dartmouth's led to 16-8. Nearing the midway point of the opening half, senior guard
Trent Santos drained the first triple of the afternoon to make it 21-10 Corsairs.
Philemon tacked on four more points before DiChiara knocked down two triples, both assisted by senior guard
Darius Peterson, to go ahead 31-17. The Panthers narrowed the Corsairs lead down to eight points with an 8-2 run approaching the last three minutes of the opening half. Boyd answered with a three-point shot while Peterson finished two good free throws, but Plymouth State closed out the half with a 7-0 run to make it 38-34 Corsairs at halftime.
In the first minute of the second half, Philemon opened the scoring with an and-one play to take a 41-34 edge. Plymouth State continued to battle back, going on a 7-2 run to make it a one possession game with 17:14 on the clock. Flauto and Peterson quickly answered for the Corsairs scoring five points apiece to extend their lead to 53-44. After Panthers strung seven points together to cut the Corsairs advantage back down to two points, Flauto disrupted the home team's momentum with a good layup to make it 55-51.
At the 8:50 mark, DiChiara clipped in a triple on the fast break followed by a jump shot from Philemon to maintain a six-point lead. Plymouth State tied the score up at 65-all after Will Mollica finished a basket inside the paint with less than three minutes remaining in the contest. Boyd responded with a layup and two free throws while Flauto added another two points from the charity stripe to regain a 71-67 advantage. Despite a late triple by the Panthers, UMass Dartmouth outlasted Plymouth State, 74-72, to secure their fifth conference victory of the season.
DiChiara recorded his second career double-double for the Corsairs after scoring a team-high 17 points (6-12 FG, 4-4 3FG, 1-4 FT) and hauling in a career-high 11 rebounds. Flauto finished the afternoon with 15 points (6-9 FG, 3-5 FT) to go along with six rebounds, one steal, and a block. Philemon posted a season-high 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-9 FT) in the road win while also recording three boards and an assist. Boyd produced 10 points (3-11 FG, 1-5 3FG, 3-4 FT) as well as three rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Peterson recorded a career-high four assists against the Panthers along with eight points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 3-6 F), four rebounds, and a steal. Dunbury matched his season-high with four blocked shots while also adding six points (2-7 FG, 2-2 FT) and five rebounds.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Keene State College for their next Little East match-up on Wednesday, February 11 starting at 7:30 p.m. from the Tripp Athletic Center.
