Box Score
DARTMOUTH, Mass. – It's been a season of streaks both on the court and in the overall results for the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team, which used a hot streak at the start of both halves and also down the stretch to snap a four-game losing streak and record a had-to-have-it 96-86 Little East Conference victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Wednesday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center.

A loss Wednesday would have dropped Eastern two games behind UMD for the sixth and final LEC tournament spot with five regular-season games remaining and would have had the Warriors on the brink of missing the LEC playoffs for the third straight season. An Eastern loss Wednesday would also have given UMD the tie-breaker in the event the teams finished in a tie in the standings.

Having lost seven of its previous nine to UMass Dartmouth (10-10, 4-7 LEC) at the Tripp and needing a victory to gain a split of the regular-season series with the Corsairs, Eastern (12-8, 4-7 LEC) emerged from a back-and-fourth tilt by holding the hosts scoreless from the floor and outscoring them, 13-2, over the final two minutes to pull even with UMD for sixth place and the final LEC tournament spot.

The final point total is also the highest for Eastern in a win against the Corsairs since a 101-77 verdict  eight years ago at Geissler Gym.

In his final regular-season career appearance against UMD at the Tripp, senior guard Dominick Dao (Terryville)  submitted a memorable effort with a season-high 30 points that equalled his career high set in the opening game of his sophomore year. Dao, who managed only seven points on 3-of-13 shooting in the earlier loss to UMass a month ago at Geissler Gym, canned six three-pointers (one shy of his career-high set in his earlier 30-point game). Two of Dao's three-pointers vaulted the Warriors into a quick 6-0 lead less than two minutes into play and his final trey sparked the final 13-2 run and gave Eastern the lead for good, 86-84, with just over two minutes left.

Leading by three at halftime, Eastern threatened to run away with the game by scoring the first eight points of the second half that pushed the Warriors into a game-high 11-point lead, 58-47, less than two minutes into the half. Just as quickly, the Corsairs countered with a run of nine straight points that cut Eastern's lead to a single basket, 58-57 with 15:45 to play in the game.

Leading by that one point, the Warriors again threatened to take control on a pair of inside buckets from senior Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford) and junior Julian Sanchez (Willimantic) and Dao's three-point from the left side on a pass from junior Cedrick Similien (Norwich) that made it 73-65 midway though the second half, but the Corsairs surged back once again with a 9-3 run (Dao's three-pointer being the Warriors only points in that UMD spurt) that gave them their final lead, 79-78 on a jumper by Danny Reyes with just under five minutes left.

Senior point guard Michael Carothers (Queens, NY), the New England assist leader, recorded double-figures in assists for the second time this year with ten to go along with eight points, four rebounds and three key steals. Both of Carothers' free throws in the game came with 30 seconds left and all but sealed the victory, 92-86, with Dao's two freebies and an inside basket in the final 15 seconds accounting for the double-digit win.

Having seen limited time in eight games with 14 points off the bench this year after returning from injury, 6-foot-5 inch first-year senior Soul Diaby (Springfield, MA) gave the Warriors a much-needed boost off the bench by scoring eight points in less than two minutes en route to a career-high ten points  (4-of-5 FG) in ten minutes. With Eastern down by its largest margin (five points) in the final five minutes of the first half, Diaby hit the second of two free throws, then scored inside. Moments later, he drained a three-pointer, and after a media timeout, sank a jumper that pulled Eastern even, 43-43 with 2:11 left in the half. Dao (who else?) then turned a blocked shot by Sanchez into his third three-point field of the half that came at the halftime buzzer and lifted the Warriors into their three-point lead at the break.

With 56 of its points coming in the paint, Eastern shot a season-high 60.3 percent (63.6 in the first half). Dao was 11-of-16, Hamblin 8-of-15 (19 points) and Sanchez 6-of-11 (14 points). Dao shared game-high honors with eight rebounds, with Hamblin grabbing seven. As a team, the Warriors canned half (9-of-18) of their three-point field goal attempts. In two games against UMD this year, Hamblin totalled 46 points and 12 rebounds.

Six-foot-eight inch senior Ryan Flauto led UMass with 19 points (9-of-12 FG) and grabbed seven rebounds in 33 minutes in a starting role. In the win at Eastern earlier this year, Flauto came off the bench for 19 points on 9-of-9 shooting with six rebounds in 27 minutes. Sophomore guard Camden Dichiara, who tossed in a team-high 20 points the first time around against Eastern, was limited to five points in 22 minutes this time.

Eastern hosts the University of Southern Maine (13-8, 8-4 LEC) Saturday at 1 p.m. in an LEC contest, the Huskies having posted an 81-70 win at Gorham on Jan. 17 that began the four-game Eastern slide that ended Wednesday. The Huskies won their seventh game in the last nine outings Wednesday night with a 48-point second half that led them to a 74-68 LEC win at Rhode Island College. USM commited only nine turnovers and was 19-of-23 from the foul line.