Box Score
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. --  The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team faced two stiff and critical tests this week in its quest to return to the Little East Conference tournament after a two-year hiatus.
 
On Saturday, the Warriors (13-8, 5-7 LEC) aced their second test of the week, and because of that, remain in the hunt to land one of the six LEC tournament spots when the conference tournament gets underway with first-round games Feb. 24.
 
Having lost by 11 points at the University of Southern Maine (13-9, 8-5 LEC) three weeks ago that launched a four-game losing streak and put the Warriors on the brink of playoff extinction, Eastern turned it around Saturday, surviving several anxious moments down the stretch to pocket a vital 88-85 decision at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
 
With four games remaining in the LEC regular season, Eastern shares sixth place in the nine-team conference with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The Warriors had passed their first test of the week by downing UMass Dartmouth by ten points Wednesday at the Tripp Athletic Center that righted them after four straight losses. The Corsairs managed to maintain a share of sixth place with Eastern thanks to squeezing past Plymouth State University, 74-72, Saturday afternoon at Foley Gymnasium.
 
While home was where the heart was when they claimed their first five at Geissler through the 2025 portion of the schedule, the Warriors had struggled recently at home, having dropped four of their previous five heading into Saturday's encounter with long-time LEC rival Southern Maine.
 
Eastern came from nine points down late in the first half, cutting the margin to three by the break and moving out to a 12-point lead with six minutes left that had enough legs to survive an anxious final two minutes.
 
Saturday, Eastern led by ten points with three minutes left after senior point guard Michael Carothers (Queens, NY) converted  both ends of an important one-and-one opportunity and  still led by six with 2:06 left after each team missed free throws (Eastern failing on the front end of a one-and-one with 2:06 left and USM failing uncharacteristically on a two-shot try 18 seconds later.)
 
In the final minute, with the Huskies pressing and creating mayhem, Eastern got two key free throws each from both junior Julian Sanchez (Willimantic) – the front end of the one-and-one hitting the front of the rim and dropping through with 58.2 seconds left--  and  senior Ray Carter (Springfield, MA) with 26.2 seconds left that gave it a five-point lead, 86-81.
 
In  those final seconds, Eastern survived a pair of long three-point field goals from USM's Noah Dowling (he was 6-of-12 from distance in the game). The lefty-shooting 6-foot-5 inch Dowling's first three came on an open look with 31.4 seconds left that made it 84-81 and his second followed Carter's two free throws and with a swish as he was falling away in front of the USM bench that made it 86-84 with 18.3 seconds left.
 
The Warriors connected on just enough of their free throws and got a big steal from senior Dominick Dao (Terryville) the rest of the way. After Sanchez hit the back end of a two-shot foul with 15.4 seconds left that made it 87-84, Dao reached in to steal the ball in the Huskies' front court, and senior Javontae Jones (Lumberton, NJ) hit the back end of a two-shot foul to make it 88-84 with 5.3 seconds left.
 
Southern Maine made one last-gasp effort to force overtime when Gabe Lash was given three foul shots after being fouled on a desperation three-point heave with his team trailing by four with 1.6 seconds left. After making the first and missing the second that left Eastern with a three-point lead, Lash, following an Eastern timeout, intentionally missed the third.  Graduate center Andrew Hartel was able to grab the missed free throw in front of the USM bench but was unable to get off a potential game-tying three-pointer as time expired.
 
Sanchez led five Eastern double-digit scorers with 24 points (8-of-12 FG) in 27 minutes off the bench. Junior Drew Soltis (Bridgeport), a physical force in the paint all afternoon, had 19 points (9-of-16 FG) and a career-high 19 rebounds (nine offensive), with Dao adding 15 points (6-of-10 FG), Carter 14 points (5-of-9 FG) and five rebounds, and 6-foot-7 inch senior Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford) 13 points. Sanchez, Dao and Hamblin combined for 33 points in Eastern's 49-point second half, when the Warriors shot 58.6 percent from the floor.
 
Carothers, the New England leader in assists, recorded the 200^th of his three-year Eastern career, finishing with eight before fouling out with Eastern leading by eight with 1:28 left.
 
Southern Maine senior guard Thomas Whalen, who torched Eastern for a game-high 23 points (9-of-10 FT) in the Huskies' win over the Warriors this year, led USM with 19 points (8-of-8 FT). Lash, a 6-foot-6 inch freshman, grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
 
Eastern continues its late-season quest for post-season play when it visits Rhode Island College (11-11, 7-6 LEC) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Anchormen, who outlasted Eastern, 99-92, when the teams met Jan. 21 at Geissler Gym, lost its third straight Saturday afternoon, 82-69 at LEC leader University of Massachusetts Boston.