Box Score
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. –Having led for the majority of the game, Eastern Connecticut State University gave up the lead with just under five minutes to go in an 83-77 Little East Conference men's basketball loss to Western Connecticut State University Wednesday evening at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
Since losing at home to Eastern (11-7, 3-6), 78-73, in the LEC opener for both teams Dec. 3, WestConn (14-5, 7-3 LEC) has won 11 of 13 and is in a three-way tie for second place in the conference, one game back of the University of Massachusetts Boston. Since opening with a 9-1 record, Eastern has gone 2-6 and is in seventh place in the nine-team conference, one game ahead of eighth-place Plymouth State University.
Eastern quickly dug itself out of an early 6-0 hole with a three-pointer from
Dominick Dao (Terryville), who was recognized last Wednesday for reaching 1,000 career points, a mark he reached earlier this season. Tonight, he shot 4-7 from the field, with all four made field goals from beyond the arc.
Steals played a big part on both sides of the floor, as
Julian Sanchez (Willimantic) and Dao each had three in the contest. Two of those for Sanchez came within 30 seconds in the first half, the second leading to an emphatic putback dunk from
Drew Soltis (Bridgeport) that got the home crowd out of their seats.
The Warriors then found the momentum to hit four consecutive three-pointers, two from Dao and two from
Cedrick Similien (Norwich) who played 22 minutes off the bench. Eastern's hot streak was only met with a layup by WestConn's Marcel Henry, who led the Wolves with 18 points.
The Warriors were dominant on the boards, pulling in 33 rebounds to WestConn's 20. Coming out of a media timeout,
Ray Carter (Springfield, MA) combined with Soltis for three consecutive offensive rebounds, with Soltis eventually drawing a foul at the end of the sequence. Hitting both free throws, Soltis was well on his way to his eventual double-double, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Carter also enjoyed a productive evening in his return to action, shooting 55% and finishing with 22 points.
Coming out of the break, WestConn was able to draw the game level on four separate occasions, the first coming less than two minutes in after free throws by Tayejon Lynch. In a back-and-forth half, Dao found himself in foul trouble, exiting the game with just under 10 minutes to go.
Down by four late in the half, former Warrior
Elijah Jean-Guillaume had back-to-back steals, drawing WestConn level once again. Another steal from the Wolves came courtesy of WestConn's Jaeden Bull, leading to a fast break from Jean-Guillaume, who drew a foul from Dao, his fifth. Jean-Guillaume missed his first free throw, ending a streak of perfect shooting up to that point. The junior finished with 17 points on 7-8 shooting from the field, going 3-4 from the line. With just over two minutes to play, Lynch gave WestConn the lead for the final time, adding another three-pointer with just 37 seconds to play, putting his team up by six. The Wolves would go on to defeat the Warriors and split the season series at one a piece.
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday at 3 p.m., where they travel to Boston, MA for a Little East Conference matchup against UMass Boston at Clark Athletic Center. The Beacons of UMass Boston are 12-7 on the season, and are a conference-leading 8-2 in the LEC. On January 3, UMass Boston used a big second half to defeat the Warriors 83-79 in Willimantic. Sophomore guard Raphel Laurent had a game-high 29 points in their visit. Eastern will be seeking to break its three-game losing streak against the Beacons, who had their five-game winning streak snapped in a 105-63 loss at the University of Southern Maine Wednesday night.
