RIC falls to UMass-Dartmouth 73-68

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WPRI) - Rhode Island College suffered a 73-68 loss to UMass Dartmouth in Little East Conference men's basketball action played at the Tripp Athletic Center on Tuesday evening.

The loss drops the Anchormen to 16-5 overall and 7-4 (fourth place) in the Little East Conference. The four league setbacks are the most in a season since the club dropped five (9-5) in 2005-06. The Corsairs improve to 11-11 overall and 5-6 in the LEC.

Senior center Mike Akinrola and sophomore guard Avery King led the way for the visitors with 15 points apiece. Sophomore guard Mike Palumbo scored a career-high 13, while junior guard Tahrike Carter contributed 11 points and a game-high seven assists.

In a closely contested battle between these two conference rivals, RIC found itself down by one at the half, 29-28.

Two free throws by King at 13:58 gave the Anchormen a 41-40 lead and he later sank a three to stake RIC to a 44-42 advantage 44 seconds later. An Akinrola layup opened a five-point, 50-45, lead for the visitors with just over 10 minutes remaining, but the hosts embarked on a 16-2 run to post a 61-52 lead at 6:23.

UMD was able to build an 11-point lead and RIC would get no closer than the final margin of four points the rest of the way.

RIC shot 46 percent (25-for-54) from the field, knocked down 6-of-15 (40 percent) from downtown and converted 12-of-16 free throw attempts. UMD held a 31-29 advantage on the glass, while shooting 47 percent (23-for-49) from the field and the same (7-for-15) from downtown. Both teams turned the ball over 24 times.

Senior center Lance Greene posted a double-double with game-highs of 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Corsairs.