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Paxton, MA --- UMass Dartmouth freshman Tucker Bouchard (Kingston, MA) dropped nine of his team-best 21 points in overtime to help lead the Corsairs to an 88-77 extra session triumph over Worcester State in non-conference men's basketball action at the Anna Maria's Fuller Activities Center.
With the win UMD improves to 3-2 overall while the Lancers slip to 0-5 on the young season.
Bouchard swished a three-pointer with 36 seconds left to give his team the late 69-67 advantage before first-year Noris Cuevas-Nova (Amherst, MA) corralled an offensive rebound, drained a put back with 14 ticks remaining to knot the score up and force extra time.
In overtime, junior Jake Laga (Northampton, MA) drilled a three pointer and Bouchard converted a lay-up as the Corsairs took a 74-69 lead and never trailed again.
The advantage grew to eight with 1:17 left following a trey by Bouchard (81-74), but Worcester State used two at the charity stripe by Cuevas-Nova and senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) to slice into the deficit for an four point contest.
However, the visitors sank six of their last eight free throws to ice the game for the final margin.
The Lancers led 63-58 with 5:14 remaining after erasing a 13 point deficit early on in the second half. After trimming the score down to seven points at the midway point (58-51), the hosts went on a 12-0 spurt for their largest advantage of the second half.
Four successful chances at the line by Bouchard sandwiched a freshman Ryan Walsh (N. Dighton, MA) lay-up as the visitors took the 64-63 edge with 3:48 remaining in a 6-0 run. UMD took over the three point cushion 30 ticks later on a sophomore Jacek Louisville (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) field goal.
But the Lancers came right back and took the 67-66 advantage with four consecutive makes at the charity stripe by Jobst to set the stage for Bouchard's late trifecta.
The opening half was close as neither team led by more than five for a 26-26 stalemate with 6:18 on the clock. Worcester State took their last advantage of the frame on a lay-up by Jobst with 4:38 remaining (31-30) before UMD went on a 10-2 surge to close out the stanza for the 40-33 score at the intermission.
The Corsairs came out of the locker room and increased their margin for their largest of the game at 48-35 with 16:48 left in regulation.
Walsh highlighted five in double figures for UMass Dartmouth as he went 9-for-10 at the free throw line.
Louisville added 17 points, five helpers and four steals – with four three pointers – while sophomore Abi Ahanni (Fitchburg, MA) poured in 16 points. Laga chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds and Walsh added 12 points.
Jobst finished with his fifth double-double in as many games with 25 points and 13 boards and four assists to lead the charge for the Lancers. Nova registered 13 points as junior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) and freshman Jeremy Bacon (Milford, MA) both finished with 11 points for WSU.
The Lancers connected for 43 percent of their shots (27-for-63), but only made three of their 11 tries from beyond the arch. UMD hit 41 percent of their attempts from the field including 10 three pointers while struggling at the line (67 percent – 20-for-30).
Worcester State held leads in total rebounds (47-42), offensive boards (14-13), points in the paint (38-32), second chance opportunities (17-11) and points in transition (22-15).
The Corsairs took advantage of 28 WSU miscues with 16 swipes as they tallied over one third of their final sum with a 25-21 edge in points off turnovers. UMD outscored the hosts 19-9 in overtime.
Both squads will play again on Thursday evening. The Blue and Gold head to Western Connecticut for a 7 PM matchup while UMass Dartmouth hosts Bridgewater State at 7:30.
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