'NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's men's basketball team saved the last day before the beginning of the spring semester for their best performance to date Saturday at the Tripp Athletic Center.

The Corsairs made 72.7 per cent of their shots from the field in the first half, took a 54-36 halftime lead, and went on to defeat 23rd-ranked Keene State, 97-74, in their Little East Conference game.

Freshman guard Jeff Macchi (Franklin, MA/Franklin HS) hit three consecutive lay-ups as UMass Dartmouth scored 10 of the game's first 12 points. The Owls cut the lead to 15-10, but the Corsairs responded with a 17-2 run that gave them a 32-12 advantage with 9:02 remaining in the first half. Freshman forward Matt Walker (Brockton, MA/Brockton HS) hit a three-pointer during the run and freshman guard Tyler Turtoro (Shelton, CT/Shelton HS) added a pair of treys.

A jumper by Brandon Robinson and Shiwon Davis' three-pointer allowed KSC to climb to within 16 points at 57-41 early in the second half. But the Corsairs got a pair of three-pointers from junior guard A.J. Tavares (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford HS) in a 10-1 run, and weren't threatened again.

The Corsairs made 50 per cent of their field goals in the second half, finishing the game shooting 62.3 per cent overall to KSC's 44.6 per cent "We played well and shot the ball well, especially in the first half," said Baptiste. "Keene State gambled and overplayed us, and we took advantage of that."

Macchi led all scorers with a career high 20 points, making eight of 12 shots from the field and grabbing seven rebounds. Senior forward Stephane Abelard (Brockton, MA/Brockton HS/Massasoit CC) added 17, Tavares contributed 16, Turtoro had 14 and senior forward Paul Pawlowski (Taunton, MA/Taunton HS) had 11. Pawlowski now had 984 points for his career, and needs 16 to become the 42nd UMass Dartmouth men's basketball player to score 1000 points during his career.

Nick Drouin led the Owls with 18 points, and Tyler Kathan had 12. Each team had 29 rebounds, and Freeman added nine assists.

The Corsairs improved to 10-9, 5-4 in Little East Conference play with the victory, while Keene State dropped to 16-3 and 7-2 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they host Salem State in a non-conference game Wednesday evening, while the Owls will return to action Tuesday night when they host Williams.

(Courtesy UMD Sports Information)