Box Score DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University Men's Basketball Team took on Western Connecticut in the Little East Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday night at Feldman Arena. The Warriors (17-10, 8-8 LEC) split the season series against the Wolves (20-6, 12-4 LEC) in the regular season, as each team won the away game in the home-and-home series.
 
In the opening minutes, the top-seeded WestConn Wolves were off to an 8-0 start in their third match against the Warriors this season, forcing an early timeout after just one minute and 48 seconds had expired. Eastern was 0-7 from the field until a Ray Carter (Springfield, MA) jumper calmed the nerves and allowed the Warriors to get a foothold in the game. WestConn was able to hurt the Warriors in a multitude of ways, using six different scorers before the under-12 media timeout.
 
The introduction of Julian Sanchez (Willimantic) brought the Warriors back within a point, scoring a quick five off the bench, before Dominick Dao (Terryville) gave the Warriors their first lead of the night with 10 minutes to play in the first half. After three minutes and 25 seconds of scoreless play on both sides of the court, Sanchez was able to hit a pair of free throws to break the drought. WestConn's Nick Boyce repeated the feat on the opposite end, driving into the lane for a layup and cutting the Warrior lead to four.
 
After a pair of 14-point games against WestConn earlier in the season, Dao continued to hurt the Wolves again today, scoring 10 points in his opening 15 minutes, going 2-3 from beyond the arc in the process. As the half was winding down, the Wolves cut the lead down to just one, but the Warriors took a 29-28 lead into halftime in a must-win game.
 
WestConn came out of the break with the same intensity they opened the evening with. This time, opening a seven-point advantage before the Warriors were able to limit the damage. A rare three-pointer from Michael Carothers (Queens, NY) connected and brought it back to a one-possession game. Neither team shot the ball particularly well, as turnovers and steals played a big part throughout the contest. Drew Soltis (Bridgeport) and Jahlyl Morgan each had three steals for their respective teams. Still, the Warriors could not close the single-digit gap and WestConn maintained their lead into the under-four timeout.
 
Pedro Perry (New London) provided the spark off the bench for Eastern, draining a three to give Eastern a 50-49 lead with 3:34 remaining in the second half. Riding the momentum from his last bucket, Perry hit a jumper to give him his fourth and fifth points of the game in the critical closing moments. At 52-52, the Warriors could not capitalize out of the timeout and WestConn regained possession with 1:24 to go.
 
With the chance to take the lead, Boyce missed a pair of field goals for the Wolves, giving Eastern the ball back with 51.8 remaining. Applying heavy pressure off the inbound, WestConn nearly forced a Warrior turnover, but Eastern maintained possession. Just 20 seconds later, WestConn's Tayejon Lynch was able to come up with a loose ball and give the Wolves a shot to win the game. Out of the timeout, Lynch turned the ball over with three seconds, giving Perry a chance to win it for the Warriors at the buzzer, but his three was off the mark and the game went to overtime.
 
The Wolves gained an early lead in overtime through Lynch and held their advantage through the first few minutes. The Warriors did not score a field goal through the first three minutes and 25 seconds of overtime, with their only points coming at the line from Sanchez. The Willimantic native connected with a jumper with 1:35 remaining to cut the WestConn lead back down to two.
 
Calling a timeout with 23 seconds left on the clock, WestConn had an opportunity to make it a two-possession game through Lynch, but Eastern secured the rebound and was able to draw up a play with just 14 seconds remaining, still down two. With eight seconds left, Javontae Jones (Lumberton, NJ) missed his jumper and Marcel Henry came down with the rebound for the Wolves. At the line, former Warrior Elijah Jean-Guillaume hit two pressure free throws and put his team up by four with just five seconds to go. In the closing seconds, Sanchez hit a three-pointer to cut the lead back down to one, leaving just one second on the clock. WestConn's Lynch missed both free throws on the other end, but it did not matter, allowing the Wolves to escape with a 60-59 victory and move on to the LEC Championship game.
 
Sanchez led all players with 20 points on 6-11 shooting, adding nine rebounds and four assists to his performance. The Wolves led in the rebounding category, 50-41, while leading offensive rebounds 19-11, an area that hurt the Warriors all night.
 
Eastern closes out the 2025-26 season with tonight's loss at WestConn in the LEC semifinals. The Wolves will host the winner of Keene State and UMass Boston in the other semifinal matchup. Eastern finishes the season with a 17-10 record (8-8 LEC), improving upon last season's record of 14-11 (5-10 LEC) and making the LEC semifinals after failing to qualify for the tournament in the 2024-25 season.