Men's Basketball Drops 77-71 Decision to UMass Dartmouth

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior guard Abi Akanni (Fitchburg, Mass.) scored a game-high 16 points to lead the visiting UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team to a 77-71 victory over Bridgewater State University on Thursday night at the Tinsley Center.

The win marked the 600th in the 34-year coaching career of UMass skipper, Brian Baptiste.

The Corsairs improve to 3-2 with their first win at Bridgewater State in 12 years. The host Bears fall to 3-2 with the setback.

Poor free throw shooting in the second half cost Bridgewater State as the Bears went 6-for-14 from the charity stripe over the last 20 minutes. UMass, on the other hand, converted 16 of 20 free throws attempts in the final stanza.

Akanni connected on 4 of 5 field goals and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the line. He also corralled four rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded a steal. Senior guard Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.) contributed 11 points for the Corsairs, while sophomore center Nick Portelance (Fairhaven, Mass.) posted a double-double with ten points and a game-best 14 boards. Freshman forward Mert Sert (Hoosac Falls, N.Y.) came off the bench to notch ten points and six rebounds.

Junior forward Joseph Carty (Natick, Mass.) recorded a double-double to pace Bridgewater State as he scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Senior guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) checked in with 14 points, with 11 of those coming in the first half. Senior guard Patrick McGuinness (New City, N.Y.) added 11 points for the Bears, while junior guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) tallied ten points and six boards.

Trailing 19-18 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half, the Bears outscored the Corsairs 20-7 over the next seven minutes to open up a 38-26 lead. Six different players scored during the run led by five points from senior guard Keyon Armstrong (Brockton, Mass.) and four each from Mass and DeAndrade. Bridgewater would ultimately take a 43-32 lead into the break.

Mass led all players with 11 first-half points, while DeAndrade tallied nine and McGuinness seven.

A pair of three-pointers by Carty and senior forward Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) followed by a McGuinness layup helped the Bears extend the advantage to 13 (55-42) in the early stages of the second half.

UMass responded with a 18-3 run over the next seven minutes to take a 60-58 lead. Akanni scored eight of his 16 points during the spurt.

An Armstrong driving layup knotted the score at 60-60,  but Robinson knocked one in off the glass to put the visitors back on top, 62-60. UMass would maintain the lead the rest of the way as the Bears missed six free throws (5-for-11) over the last eight minutes. The Corsairs went 8-for-8 at the line during that span.

A clutch three-pointer by junior guard Tucker Bouchard (Kingston, Mass.) followed by a pair of Robinson free throws gave the visitors a 73-66 lead with two minutes left to play. The Bears got as close as four points on two occasions in the final minute but could not get any closer.

UMass shot 58% (7-12) from behind the arc and 75% (18-24) at the free throw line for the game. Bridgewater went 5-for-16 (31%) from three-point range and 12-for-22 (55%) at the charity stripe.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday. The Bears take on RPI in the semifinals of the Ed Hockenbury Classic (hosted by Norwich University) at eight o'clock, while the Corsairs open Little East Conference play at home against Keene State College at one.