Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Junior guard Tarchee Brown (Rockville) scored 13 points in the first half to help stake the top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team to a 34-point halftime lead on the way to a 106-62 victory over eighth-seeded Western Connecticut State University in the first round of the 2017 Little East Conference Tournament Tuesday evening at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
Eastern (18-8) hosts fifth-seeded University of Massachusetts Boston (14-12) Friday at 5 p.m. in the first of two semifinal-round games, while second-seeded and two-time defending tournament champion Keene State College (18-8) faces third-seeded University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (17-9) at 7:30 p.m. The tournament final is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. All games will be played at Eastern.
The top-ranked defensive team in the conference, Eastern limited Western (12-13) to 27.4 percent shooting and its +12 advantage in rebounds helped them to a 48-16 advantage in scoring in the paint.
Brown finished with 26 points, senior forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) 15 points and 14 rebounds (his 17th double-double of the year), six assists and two blocks. Brown had five assists, four rebounds and two blocks. Junior guard Kendall Marquez (Willimantic) had 11 points off the bench and junior forward Jacob Colliins (Bristol) ten points in seven minutes off the bench. Freshman guard Carlos Gonzalez (Springfield, MA) had nine points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals and sophomore guard Tyrell Arnum (Bloomfield) nine points, and a career-tying ten rebounds.
Western junior guard Bobby Bynum led the Colonials – who finished the season on a seven-game losing streak – with 15 points, seven of them coming on eight free throw attempts.
