Sophomore Jordan Moretti (Johnston) scored 10 points and seven boards for UMass-Dartmouth in the Corsairs’ recent 91-43 victory over Plymouth State last weekend. Senior Ashley Brown (New Bedford, Mass.) scored 10 points, including the 1,000th of her career, to lead eight players in double figures.
The host Corsairs (9-8, 4-4 LEC) jumped out to a 14-2 first quarter lead and held the visiting Panthers (3-11, 0-7 LEC) without a field goal for the first 10-plus minutes of play, as UMass Dartmouth built a 28-point edge (40-12) at the break. Brown became the 13th member of the Corsair 1,000 point club with a three-pointer late in the third stanza, as the hosts extended their advantage to 34 (60-26) heading into the final frame before erupting for 31 fourth quarter points to account for the final margin.
Sophomore Sabrina Armstrong (Washington, N.J.) scored 11 points and dished out three assists in the triumph for UMass Dartmouth, while Brown added six rebounds and three assists on the afternoon. Shaelyn Carreiro (Fall River, Mass.) each added 10 points and seven boards for the Corsairs, who received 10 points and a career-best nine caroms from freshman Brianna Craig (Monroe, Conn.). Sophomore Jessica Carroll (Deep River, Conn.) scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds for the winners, who received 10 points and five assists from freshman Jennifer Driscoll (Westport, Mass.) along with 10 points and three blocks from junior Meagan Donovan (Abington, Mass.). UMass Dartmouth shot 44 percent (31-71) from the field overall and connected on 12-of-27 attempts from behind the arc on the day, as the Corsairs held a 48-41 rebounding advantage and converted 26 turnovers into 38 points.
Junior Elizabeth McLaughlin (Melvin Village, N.H.) led all scorers with 17 points while adding six rebounds in the setback for Plymouth State, which received 11 points, four assists and four steals from freshman Alessia Salzillo (Saugus, Mass.) along with 10 points from freshman Sarah Sweet (Narragansett). The Panthers shot 28 percent (16-57) from the floor and called five from behind the arc, as the visitors were outscored by a 17-6 margin from the charity stripe.
UMass Dartmouth will be idle until next Saturday, January 25th when the Corsairs travel to Castleton, Vt. to take on Castleton in a Little East Conference clash that tips-off at 2:00 p.m., while Plymouth State headed into Boston on Wednesday evening for a Little East matchup with UMass Boston. Knights clipped by Central Maine The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team headed to Auburn, Maine on Saturday afternoon to take on the Central Maine Community College Mustangs (CMCC). The Knights would fall by a single point in overtime 99-98 to the Mustangs. The loss drops CCRI’s season record to 11-7 overall.
The CCRI Knights traveled up I-95 North to face off with the No. 10 ranked (USCAA DII MBB poll) Mustangs for a weekend showdown. CCRI won the first meeting of the season back on December 14th 92-89 off a last second three-pointer by co-captain Elijah Lewis (Bridgeport, CT). This game would also be decided by a last second shot but this time in overtime.
The game started level with both teams going back and forth but never pulling away by more than on possession. Central Maine held a 13-16 lead with 11 minutes left on the first half clock. The Mustangs would begin to broaden their lead off the back of AJ Cunningham who led all scorers with 17 first half points. CCRI were led themselves by freshman Mikey Gamble (Hartford, CT) who tallied 11 first half points. At the halftime mark, The Knights found themselves trailing the Mustangs by 10 points, 46-36. A massive proponent of the was the eight first half three-pointers that CMCC drained compared to the three that CCRI managed in the first 20 minutes.
The second half showed CCRI come out in the second half looking to capitalize more from the perimeter. The Knights would drain seven three-pointers in the second half and was led by sophomore co-captain Dylan Durante (Johnston) shooting 3-6 in the second half from beyond the arc. CCRI would take their first lead after going on a 13-0 run over the course of two minutes, sitting on top 65-61 with 11:12 left on the clock.
The teams would once again go back and forth matching shot for shot with the Knights always holding a slim lead. CCRI once again pushed the pace and opened a nine-point lead, 84-75 over the Mustangs with 2:24 left in the game. CMCC stormed back, tying the game up with two seconds left in regulation. Lewis had just two seconds to try and work his magic, but his long distance three would not drop and the teams would head into overtime tied up at 85-85.
In the overtime period, neither team slowed down enough for the other to pull away. CCRI held the largest lead of the five-minute period, 98-95 with 1:21 left in the game but could not stop the Mustangs as they made back-to-back jump shots to take a 99-98 lead with just one second remaining. Gamble received the ball, quickly releasing from distance but the shot would not fall and the Knights would lose the game 99-98.
The Knights were led on the day by Gamble’s career-high 30 points with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. Gamble shot 9-19 from the floor and 2-8 from downtown as well as making 10 of 11 free-throws. Freshman Mitchel Noresca (East Providence) recorded his fourth double-double in as many games as he scored 23 points with 16 rebounds and one assist. Lewis chipped in 17 points as he shot 3-8 from beyond the arc and added eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals in his 40 minute performance. Durante tallied 14 points, shooting 3-9 from distance and adding four rebounds.
Head Coach Rick Harris commented, “Today was a great exciting game for the fans and one that we will benefit from. Lots of scoring and great plays. Fitting that both of our games with CMCC were decided with buzzer beating game winners. We had today’s game won twice but just couldn’t run the clock out at the very end. Once again [we] missed free-throws with seconds to play which cost us the chance to win. Love this group, they will use this experience to be as prepared as they can for the remaining Region XXI games. Our best is yet to come.”
The CCRI Knights men’s basketball will next be in action on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. as they host the Roxbury Community College Tigers.
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