Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Freshman guard Tarchee Brown (Rockville) scored 22 of his career-high 29 points in the second half as the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team clinched the Little East Conference regular-season championship for the third time in the last four years with a 74-65 victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Saturday at the Tripp Athletic Center.
Trailing by three points and halftime, Eastern (19-4, 11-1 LEC) shot 62.8 percent during a 49-point second half and forced 14 UMass Dartmouth (12-11, 8-4 LEC) en route to its 12th straight win over the Corsairs.
As the No. 1 LEC tournament seed, Eastern will host the No. 8 seed in a first-round game Feb. 24 and if it advances, will host the tournament semifinals and final Feb. 27-28.
Ranked fourth in the first NCAA regional poll, Eastern utilized a 19-4 run at the beginning of the second half as the Corsairs sustained their second-straight setback. Eastern has now won 30 of its last 31 LEC regular-season games and improved to 9-3 away from Geissler Gym this year.
In the second half, Brown was 7-for-9 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line and sophomore forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) added ten points and five rebounds after the break. It marked the second straight game in which Brown's standout second half carried the team to victory. On Wednesday, he scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half in an 82-76 home win over Keene State College.
Brown was 10-for-18 from the floor in the game and Lindo 7-for-14 in scoring 14 points and grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore center Brandon Kuczenski (Naugatuck) helped spark a second straight LEC comeback win by coming off the bench to score nine points and grab two rebounds in 15 minutes -- his most minutes since Jan. 3. In the last two games, Kuczenski has 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting and six rebounds.
Conference scoring leader Jordan Rezendes led UMass with 24 points and all players with 15 rebounds and four blocked shots. The Corsairs shut just 38.2 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 18 times.
UMass Dartmouth used a 7-2 run over the final two minutes of the first half to take a 28-25 lead into the intermission. Senior Wale Abraham ignited the surge with a put-back off an offensive rebound, and Rezendes drained a three and converted a lay-up to cap the run.
Rezendes converted a conventional three-point play to give the Corsairs their largest advantage of the afternoon, 31-25. However, the Warriors answered with their decisive run to seize control of the contest. Brown was the catalyst during the surge with 13 points, including three shots from downtown, to extend the visitors advantage to 45-35 with 13:51 remaining in regulation.
In two games against UMD this year, Brown totaled 45 points, 18 rebounds and five assists. He shot 51.5 percent from the floor and 83.3 percent from the stripe and sank six of 11 three-pointers. The Warriors completed the season sweep of UMass without junior guard Trachone Preston (Enfield), who contributed 16 poiints and six assists in the home victory over the Corsairs.
Eastern visits Western Connecticut State University Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
