N. Dartmouth, MA --- Junior Jeremy Ross (Holden, MA) hit a lay-up with six seconds left and classmate Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MO) finished with a game-best 22 points as they both helped lead Worcester State to a 68-67 triumph over UMass Dartmouth in non-conference men's basketball action this evening at the Tripp Athletic Center.
The Lancers (4-1) were also paced by third-year Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) also finished with 11 points and a contest-high 14 rebounds.
Senior Kyle Ferreira (Westport, MA) and freshman Alex Lopez (Springfield, MA/Commerce) added eight and nine points, respectively as they both combined for six assists.
The Corsairs (0-6) were propelled by junior John Genkos' (Worcester, MA/Doherty) 12 points and six boards and sophomore Alex Rodrigues (Fall River, MA) chipped in with 11 points and eight caroms.
UMass Dartmouth led by as many as 10 points midway through the second stanza (51-41) before Worcester State went on an 18-6 spurt to go up 59-57 on a lay-up by Hunter at the 5:21 mark.
After a three-pointer by Lopez put the Lancers up by four with three minutes left (64-60), the Corsairs used two points in the paint by Grenkos and a three-pointer by second-year Mike Rotando (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ) for the 65-64 advantage as 1:34 showed on the clock.
Hunter sank a lay-up on the next possession and then Rodrigues hit a jumper with 45 seconds left for the one-point edge (67-66).
The Lancers missed consecutive field goal tries, but were awarded possession on a jump ball to set the stage for Ross' heroics on a tip-in.
UMass Dartmouth committed a turnover in the waning moments as Worcester State ran out the clock for the final score.
The Corsairs led 21-7 with 7:35 on the clock in the opening frame, but the Lancers went on a 10-0 run with five points by Ferreira and a trey by freshman Austin Keeler (Holyoke, MA) to make the score a four point game with 4:45 remaining (21-17).
The hosts went back up by 10 twice, but a free throw shot by Ross and a lay-up by Jobst gave UMD the 29-22 advantage at the intermission.
Worcester State doubled up their opponents in the paint (50-26) and they held slim leads in rebounds (41-39), offensive caroms (12-10) and points off turnovers (23-11).
For the contest the Lancers shot 47 percent from the floor (29-for-65) and the Corsairs connected for 42 percent for the game (27-for-64).
The second half saw both squads shoot for 50 percent as WSU hit 51 percent of their shots (20-for-39) and the hosts were an even 50-percent for the stanza (16-for-32).
Neither squad got to the charity stripe and the Corsairs only hit five of their 16 attempts from three point land.
Both teams hosts opponents on Thursday evening. The Lancers entertain Western Connecticut at 8 PM while UMass Dartmouth entertains Curry at 7 o'clock.