WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team scored the final 13 points of the first half and shot nearly 60 percent in the second on the way to a 77-44 Little East Conference victory over Rhode Island College Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

At right: Jacob Collins (Photo by Mike Freilich)

The 33-point margin is the largest one by either team in the series since Rhode Island (1-10, 0-2 LEC) posted a 39-point victory (100-61) on its court on December 9, 1978.

Leading by seven, 21-14 with 4:30 left in the first half, Eastern (7-3, 2-0 LEC) scored the final 13 points of the half to move out to a 20-point, 34-14 lead. The Warriors, winners of six of their last seven, shot 58.1 percent from the floor in a 43-point second half to pull away.

In the decisive 13-point run which ended the first half, first-year sophomore forward Jacob Collins (Bristol) had the first four points and four teammates contributed additional points. Senior guard Trachone Preston (Enfield) connected on a three-point field goal in the run and junior forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) had an inside bucket, blocked two shots and handed out an assist.

Lindo was 4-of-4 from the floor in the second half and finished the game with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots in 30 minutes.

All 16 Eastern players saw action, with senior guard Kevin Leumene (Stamford) submitting one of his best all-around games with a game-high 14 points (7-of-12 FG) to go along with eight rebounds and two assists. Leumene had ten points and six rebounds in the first half.

Sophomore guard Tarchee Brown (Rockvlle) added 11 points and four rebounds. Collins, who had 11 points in seven games prior to Saturday, totalled ten points and three rebounds for the Warriors who turned the ball over a mere five times – a season-best.

Eastern never trailed and broke the second and final tie in the opening minutes of the game when junior center Brandon Kuczenski (Naugatuck) scored inside on a pass from Lindo and Brown nailed a three-pointer.

Rhode Island started four freshmen after heavy graduation losses from a year ago on the way to its tenth straight loss after an opening win.

Rhode Island team scoring leader Chris Green – a junior college All-America averaging 18.2 points this year – was guarded mostly by Leumene and did not score in the first half. He tossed in all 12 of his points in 18 second-half minutes. Freshman center Jason Jones had 14 points and a game-high ten rebounds, with freshman guard Jimmy Fritzson adding 14 points. Junior forward Terrance Tribble grabbed seven rebounds.

Eastern competes in the Daytona Beach Shootout Dec. 20-21.