Men's Basketball Edged by UMass Dartmouth, 72-65

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team defeated visiting Bridgewater State University, 72-65, in a non-conference game at the Tripp Athletic Center Wednesday evening.

UMass Dartmouth raced out to an early 7-0 lead, behind five points from senior guard Alex Klepadlo (Bernardston, Mass.), with 17:41 to play in the first half. The Bears answered with an 8-0 run of their own in under three minutes which gave them their lone lead of the game, 8-7, with 14:54 on the clock.  Senior guard Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) notched four of the eight points during the run and started the rally with a three-pointer.

UMD executed a 13-2 run over the next seven minutes, featuring four points a piece from senior center Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) and freshman forward Eleazar Clayton (Boston, Mass.), gaining a lead that they never relinquished. At the 1:32 mark, senior guard Colin Burns (Chepachet, R.I.) connected on back-to-back three-pointers, maintaining a 30-19 lead for UMD. The Corsairs remained ahead, 33-24, going into halftime.

The Corsairs outscored the Bears 12-7 over the first seven minutes of the second half, and a layup from Burns gave UMD their largest lead of the game, 48-31, with 13:16 to play. Over the next ten minutes, Bridgewater State orchestrated a 25-13 advantage, fueled by six points apiece from Ryser and freshman forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.), to pull back to within five points, 61-56. After Bears' senior center Max Dolgin (Randolph, Mass.) converted a three-point play, junior guard Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) made a layup on their next possession, bringing the Bears to within two points, 63-61, with 1:47 to play.

UMD senior guard Paul Rose (Boston, Mass.) buried a three-pointer, and Burns and sophomore guard Jeff Tagger (Brockton, Mass.) converted four consecutive free throws as the Corsairs closed the game on a 7-0 run, en route to the 72-65 victory.

Greene led UMD offensively with a team-high 19 points, a game-high 16 rebounds, and four assists. Clayton added 12 points with nine rebounds, while Burns chipped in 13 points with four assists. UMD shot 37.3% (25-of-67) from the field and 60% (15-of-25) from the free throw line.

Ryser paced BSU with a game-high 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Fortes scored 10 points with 10 rebounds in the loss. The Bears were 38.6% (22-of-57) from the floor, including 42.9% (6-of-14) from three-point range.

The Corsairs improved to 3-2 with the victory, while the Bears dropped to 2-3 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they visit Keene State in the Little East Conference opener for both teams this Saturday. Bridgewater will host Wheaton Saturday.