WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Six-foot-four inch sophomore forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) had game-highs of 15 points, 20 rebounds and three blocked shots and the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team retained its one-game lead in the Little East Conference by pulling away for a 78-61 victory over the University of Massachusetts Boston Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

Now 9-1 at home, Eastern (17-4, 9-1 LEC) remains a game up on the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in its pursuit of a third LEC regular-season title in the last four years (the Corsairs downed visiting University of Southern Maine, 95-68, Saturday). UMass Boston (10-11, 2-8 LEC) has dropped three straight and seven of eight and remains in a two-way tie for sixth with Plymouth State University in the eight-team conference.

The Warriors led by only six at halftime, but Lindo (11 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks in the second half) and freshman guard Collin Jordan (Cheshire) sparked Eastern to a double-digit lead in the first minute of the second half, and that lead never fell below eight the rest of the way. Jordan came off the bench to score all ten of his game points (one shy of his season high) in the second half, going 4-for-5 from the floor over the final 20 minutes.

The Warriors took the momentum for good early in the second half. Jordan drilled a three-point field goal, and freshman guard Tarchee Brown (Rockville) then stole the ball and followed up a teammate's miss with an offensive rebound and basket, and completed a three-point play with a free throw that upped the lead to 17, 52-35, seven minutes into the half.

Lindo, who recorded his 500th career rebound last Saturday, and Brown (14 points) led six double-digit scorers, with Jordan, and junior guards Trachone Preston (Enfield), Michael-Thomas Sciro (Westerly, RI) and Kevin Leumene (Stamford) each chipping in ten points. Leumene, Brown and Sciro combined for 14 rebounds and Brown contributed three assists and three steals.

Senior guard Luc Ulysse led UMB with 14 points and four assists. Junior forward Karl Agenor scored 13 points off the bench in the first half but went to the bench with his third personal foul with five minutes left in the first half and his team leading by four. Agenor did not take a shot from the floor in 13 second-half minutes and finished with 14 points in the game on 6-for-7 shooting from the field. He also led his team with six rebounds.

Eastern hosts Keene State College Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.