Willimantic, CT --- Eastern Connecticut seniors Brian Salzillo (N. Haven, CT) and Mike Garrow (Terryville) and sophomore guard Trachone Preston (Enfield, CT) combined for 76 points to lift the Warriors to a 90-79 victory over Worcester State in the opening round of the Eastern Men's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament this evening at the Geissler Gymnasium.
Leading by 11 at halftime, Eastern Connecticut moved out to its largest lead, 64-46, five minutes into the second half.
With Eastern leading by nine late in the game, Salzillo scored ten straight points on consecutive three-point field goals, a fadeaway bucket from the baseline and two free throws to push the Warriors into a 13-point, 85-72 lead with two minutes left.
Salzillo led all players with 31 points, sinking seven of 12 from three-point range. Garrow was 9-for-10 from the floor and finished with 25 and Preston sank nine of ten free throws on the way to 20 points.
Garrow also had six assists and senior Justin Nunez (Hartford, CT) five. First-year junior forward Leroy Haye (Delray Beach, FL) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Trailing by 18, the Lancers made a run early in the second half, slicing the deficit in half to pull to within eight, 66-58, midway through the stanza.
Freshman Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) got it going with a hook shot and later had a putback, while junior Jake Ratcliffe (Northbridge, MA) swished a three and junior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) nailed a jumper from the corner and converted a steal.
At that point, ECU sophomore Kevin Leumene (Stamford, CT) hit one free throw, and Salzillo a three-pointer to restore the lead to 12 (70-58).
Senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) led all players in the game with 17 rebounds to go along with 19 points for Worcester with Rios dropping in a team-high 22 points and senior Jeremy Ross (Holden, MA) added 13 points.
Rios and Ross were a combined 16-of-21 from the floor. Jobst, who was second in the NCAA Division III in double-doubles last year, registered his 18th career double-double.
Major Portions Of Release Courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Sports Information
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