Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team led from start to finish and Middlebury College took the lead for good three minutes into action in their respective opening-round wins of the 35th Eastern Tip-Off Tournament Friday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. Eastern led by as many as 25 en route to an 87-70 victory over The Sage Colleges (1-1), while Middlebury built a 21-point halftime lead and cruised to an 82-55 victory over Salem State University (1-1).
Eastern (1-1) moves into the tournament final for the 31st time, facing Middlebury (1-0) Saturday at 3 p.m. The Sage Colleges meets Salem at 1 p.m. in the third-place contest. The Warriors are the defending tournament champions and chase their tenth crown. Middlebury is making its tip-off tournament debut.
First-year junior transfer guard Kendall Marquez (Willimantic) sank a game-high 26 points in 26 minutes off the bench to lead four double-digit Eastern scorers, connecting on 8-of-12 field goals and all six of his free throws. Marquez was one of the top scorers at Western Connecticut for two years before sitting out last season.
Senior forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and blocked three shots to go along with eight points for the Warriors, who limited the Gators to 31.3 field goal shooting and forced 22 turnovers.
Senior forward Marcus Patterson converted 14 of 15 free throws and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for Sage, facing Eastern for the first time.
The teams combined to sink 44 free throws on 51 fouls in the game.
Middlebury, coming off last year's NCAA Division III tournament appearance, got a game-high 22 points (10-of-13 field goals), six rebounds and three blocks from sophomore forward Zach Baines and a game-high 11 rebounds (all defensive) to go along with nine points, six assists and five steals from junior guard Jack Daly in denying four-time tip-off champion Salem State from its first title game appearance.
The Panthers shot just under 60 percent in building a 21-point, 46-25 lead, finishing with a 51.4 mark from the floor and holding the Vikings to 29.6 field goal shooting.
Senior forward Marcus Faison led Salem with 17 points but was the only Salem player in double figures. Sophomore forward Tyreik McCauley led Salem with nine rebounds.
