News Release

SALEM, VA — For the second day in a row, a fast start was decisive for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men’s basketball team.

The Corsairs scored 17 of the game's first 22 points, took a 19-point halftime lead and went on to defeat Lebanon Valley, 86-64, in the championship game of the Salem Bank & Trust Tournament at the C. Homer Bast Center Wednesday evening.

Junior guard Devon Maiorano started and ended UMD's first run, connecting from three-point range to give the Corsairs their first lead at 3-2, and hitting a lay-up to make it 17-5. Junior forward Stephane Abelard contributed a lay-up and a three-pointer during the run, as did freshman guard Reece Freeman.

Jimmy Curran's three-pointer for the Flying Dutchmen cut the lead to 19-10 with 12:28 remaining in the first half, but an 18-4 run by the Corsairs made it 37-14, UMD, with 7:47 left in the first half. The Corsairs made 58.1 per cent of their shots from the field in the first half while limiting LVC to 37.5 per cent. UMD connected on 10 of 13 shots from three-point range before intermission.

A 16-6 run early in the second half allowed UMass Dartmouth to increase their lead to 28 points, 64-36 with 15:31 to play. Dan Hodge's trey with 6:59 left reduced the lead to 17 points, 69-52, but LVC could get no closer.

"I was very pleased with the way we played," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Brian Baptiste. "We shot the ball extremely well, played hard on defense, and made them take some tough shots. We also did a great job on the boards. This team was much bigger than we were, and we out rebounded them."

Abelard made 11 of 20 shots from the field, including eight of 13 from three-point range, and led all scorers with 32 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Maiorano, who joined Abelard on the All-Tournament Team, made six of eight shots from the field for 16 points. Freeman added 10 points and five assists, while junior center Dan Holbrook had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds despite being limited to only 15 minutes due to foul trouble. Reserve center Charlie Large filled in, grabbing five rebounds in 24 minutes while committing just one foul.

"We had some solid contributions off the bench," said Baptiste. "Charlie did a great job, he played well and he stayed out of foul trouble."

With the victory, the Corsairs improved to 7-4. Lebanon Valley fell to 5-6. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they resume Little East Conference play Saturday at Plymouth State.


UMASS DARTMOUTH BASKETBALL

Lebanon Valley vs UMass-Dartmouth
01-04-06 3:00 at Salem, VA
At Salem, VA
UMASS-DARTMOUTH 86, LEBANON VALLEY 64
LEBANON VALLEY (5-6)
Jimmy Curran 4-10 0-1 10; Dan Hodge 3-6 2-2 9; Peter Ruth 4-8 0-0 8; Dave
Kasyan 3-11 1-2 8; Eric Humphrey 3-7 0-0 6; Michael West 2-2 0-0 6; Dan
Hogan 2-6 1-2 5; H. Bretschneider 1-5 1-1 4; Brian Wolensky 1-2 0-0 2; Kyle
Enoch 1-3 0-0 2; Fred Pope 1-4 0-0 2; Luke Foster 1-3 0-0 2; Bob Gurr 0-1
0-0 0; Dustin Kerns 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 26-71 5-8 64.
UMASS-DARTMOUTH (7-4)
Stephane Abelard 11-20 2-2 32; Devon Maiorano 6-8 1-2 16; Reece Freeman 4-7
1-1 10; Dan Holbrook 2-4 4-4 8; Paul Pawlowski 2-6 2-2 8; Julian Tynes 2-4
0-0 6; Chris Frazier 1-1 0-0 3; Charlie Large 1-4 0-2 2; Darryl Goodridge
0-1 1-2 1. Totals 29-55 11-15 86.
Lebanon Valley................   29   35  -   64
UMass-Dartmouth...............   48   38  -   86
3-point goals-Lebanon Valley 7-21 (Jimmy Curran 2-5; Michael West 2-2; Dan
Hodge 1-2; H. Bretschneider 1-4; Dave Kasyan 1-2; Kyle Enoch 0-2; Dustin
Kerns 0-2; Eric Humphrey 0-2), UMass-Dartmouth 17-26 (Stephane Abelard 8-13;
Devon Maiorano 3-4; Paul Pawlowski 2-3; Julian Tynes 2-3; Reece Freeman 1-2;
Chris Frazier 1-1). Fouled out--Lebanon Valley-None, UMass-Dartmouth-None.
Rebounds-Lebanon Valley 32 (Eric Humphrey 6), UMass-Dartmouth 39 (Dan
Holbrook 9). Assists-Lebanon Valley 17 (Kyle Enoch 4; Dave Kasyan 4),
UMass-Dartmouth 14 (Reece Freeman 5). Total fouls-Lebanon Valley 12,
UMass-Dartmouth 12. A-102