Box Score
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the second time in 11 days, the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team was involved in a game between teams headed in opposite directions.
 
Eleven days ago, it was Eastern heading south after losing its fourth straight Little East Conference game to a soaring University of Massachusetts Boston team which recorded its fifth win in six outings and was headed  toward the top of the LEC standings (where it landed Wednesday after a 100-85 win at VTSU Castleton).
 
In Wednesday night's LEC contest at Rhode Island College, it was the Warriors who continued their ascent toward a conference post-season tournament berth with their third straight LEC win in eight days as they sent the Anchormen plunging to their fourth straight loss by a score of 80-56 at The Murray Center.
 
Still unbeaten in the month of February after escaping the month of January with a 2-7 record, Eastern (14-8, 6-7 LEC) currently remains positioned for one of the six LEC tournament spots as it maintains a share sixth place with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, an 88-71 victor over four-time defending LEC champion Keene State College Wednesday night.
 
Two of the Warriors' three remaining LEC contests come against teams ranked 8-9 in the standings (with the third game coming against Keene State) while UMass Dartmouth faces three of the top four teams in the conference in its stretch run.  The Warriors gained an important split against UMass Dartmouth a week ago at Dartmouth, MA, which, if nothing else, prevented UMD from earning the first tie-breaker (head-to-head) in the event the teams are tied at the end of the regular season.
 
In a reversal of a 99-92 loss to Rhode Island (11-12, 7-7 LEC) three weeks ago at Geissler Gymnasium when the Anchormen equalled the most points allowed by the Warriors this year,  Eastern's defense this time limited RIC to its lowest point total of the year and to half of its field goal shooting percentage from the first meeting.
 
Having their way inside by scoring nearly half of their points in the paint and shooting 65 percent from the floor three weeks ago, the Anchormen in general and 6-foot-5 inch junior Xavier Mendez in particular were stifled this time. Mendez led RIC in that win over Eastern  with game-highs of 27 points (8-of-10 FT) and14 rebounds. Wednesday, Mendez managed only ten points and nine rebounds and his team shot just 31 percent from the floor. After going 7-of-13 from distance in the earlier win, RIC managed only 3-of-20 Wednesday night.
 
On two occasions Wednesday, the Warriors kept Rhode Island from scoring from the floor for long stretches, which played a significant role in the 24-point win. With the game tied  with seven minutes left in the first half, Eastern didn't allow an RIC field goa for five minutes when it outscored the Anchormen by 11-2 to move out to a nine-point, 29-20 lead. A pair of three-point plays ignited the run, with senior forward Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford) sinking a turnaround jumper in the paint and the resultant free throw, and senior guard Javontae Jones (Lumberton, NJ) following with a three-point field goal off an RIC turnover.
 
Leading by as many as ten in the first half and by six at the break, Eastern shut down RIC over the first seven minutes of the second half, outscoring the Anchormen 21-10 as the lead ballooned to 18 (55-37) as senior guard Ray Carter (Springfield, MA) and junior forward Drew Soltis (Bridgeport) combined for 13 points.
 
The Eastern lead never dipped below 14 points the rest of the way and crested at 27 when senior guard Dominick Dao (Terryville) – limited to eight first-half minutes after being assessed his third personal foul with Eastern trailing by a pair midway through the first half  -- completed a conventional three-point play with a short jumper and ensuing free throw.
 
Soltis, who has rejuvenated the Warriors on their recent three-game winning streak, led four double-digit scorers with 20 points (all of his points coming on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor) and also added a game-high nine rebounds.  Carter and Hamblin both had 16 points on a combined 11-of-23 FG shooting) with Hamblin grabbing seven rebounds. Dao added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Senior point guard Michael Carothers (Queens, NY) handed out six assists and combined with point guard Javontae Jones for zero turnovers in 39 total minutes.
 
Rhode Island was held to only 39 points from the floor, getting 17 additional points on 20 free throw attempts.
 
Eastern closes out the regular season visiting VTSU Castleton Saturday and hosting Keene State next Wednesday and Plymouth State University in the regular-season home finale Feb. 21. Earlier, Eastern downed VTSU, 77-42 at home and Plymouth State, 74-66, at Foley Gymnasium, and was beaten by Keene State, 79-72, at Spaulding Gymnasium.