UMass Dartmouth 90, Worcester State 78
Worcester, MA --- Sophomore Lance Greene (Dorchester, MA) registered 22 points with a game-best 11 rebounds along with four assists and three steals to help propel #10 UMass Dartmouth to a 90-78 victory this evening over Worcester State in non-conference men's basketball action at the Lancer Gymnasium.
The Corsairs, ranked 10th nationally in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improve to 6-1 while WSC evens out to 3-3.
Senior Matt Walker (Brockton, MA) notched 17 points while junior Brandon Stephens (Dorchester, MA) and senior Brandon Shelton (Cambridge, MA) each recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively. Fourth-year Jeff Macchi (Franklin, MA) chipped in with nine points and three helpers.
Senior Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI/Burncoat) paced Worcester State as he finished with 22 points, eight assists and six boards as he shot 7-for-11 from the field and he was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
WSC was also led by sophomore Raheem Lewis (Northbridge, MA) who poured in 14 points while freshman Tim Henault (Lunenburg, MA) totaled 11 points with three made 3-pointers. Senior Patrick Hamilton (Templeton, MA) finished with six caroms.
Following three ties and three lead changes for the first eight minutes of the opening period, the Lancers took a 21-18 edge on a trey by Horton. WSC built up the lead by as many as nine (42-33) with 4:40 to play before UMass Dartmouth went on an 11-5 run to trail by three at the intermission.
The Corsairs came out of the locker room and turned a 47-44 deficit into a commanding 68-53 advantage as they outscored the Lancers 24-4 over the stanza's opening eight minutes. UMD saw their largest lead at 19 (80-61) with 7:12 left in regulation before WSC went on a 10-1 spurt to get back into the game and make it a 10 point contest at 3:47 (81-71).
Leading 84-74 with 1:16 remaining, a Walker jumper and a Stephen's lay-up would sandwich a Horton layup before Stephen's canned a pair of free-throws to ice the game for UMD. Hamilton converted a buzzer-beater with no time left for the final score, 90-78.
UMass Dartmouth dominated the paint as they scored 46 of their 90 points inside the key as they also converted 22 Lancer miscues into 28 points with most of the turnovers due in large part to 13 steals. WSC's bench also outscored the visitors 37-30. The Corsairs only turned the ball over 10 times in the entire contest - six of which came in the second stanza.
UMD shot 53 percent for the entire game as they connected for 6-for-13 from beyond the arch (46%). The Lancers were hot from the field in the opening frame as they made 59% of their shots (16-for-27) before they cooled down in the second period to shoot just 39% (11-for-28).
WSC went 17-for-20 from the charity stripe (85%) for the contest while the Corsairs shot 62% from the free throw line (18-for-29).
Both teams will play their next game on Saturday. Worcester State heads to the RIT Tournament this weekend and face-off against Fredonia State at 6 PM in the opening round while UMass Dartmouth continues Little East play with a 3 o'clock tip-off against Western Connecticut.