North Dartmouth Mass.--Senior forward Benjamin Vezele (Providence, RI) recorded a 17-point, 19-rebound, double-double as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team fell to UMass Dartmouth, 81-74, at Tripp Athletic Center on Wednesday night.

THE BASICS
UMass Dartmouth 81, Rhode Island College 74
UMass Dartmouth (12-7, 7-3 LEC)
Rhode Island College (13-6, 6-4 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Anchormen held an early lead of two, 4-2, at the 17:21 mark of the first half, and that was the last time they would hold a lead on the night. The Corsairs gained the lead on a sophomore forward Sean Leahy (Hanson, MA) trey ball with 17:05 left in the first half and never looked back.

• The hosts stretched their lead to as many as 17, 41-24, with 1:37 to go in the first half. The Anchormen scored six points in the final 5:10 of the half and trailed by 14 going into halftime, 41-27.

• In the second half, the Anchormen battled back and cut the deficit down to seven, 77-70, with just over two minutes to go after a senior guard Jonatan Batista (Providence, RI) steal and layup.

• The Anchormen trimmed the Corsair lead down to five, 77-72, on a freshman guard Shion Darby (Peekskill, NY) layup with 50 seconds left.

• The Corsairs were able to close the door on the Anchormen comeback and seal the game.

• Darby finished with a team-high 23 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Junior forward Tim Deng (Portland, ME) scored 21 points and grabbed six boards. Batista finished with 10 points and four boards.

•UMD junior guard Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, MA) registered a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. Leahy finished with an 18-point, 11-rebound, double-double.

BY THE NUMBERS
• RIC shot 36 percent (30-for-84) from the field, 19 percent (5-for-27) from three-point range, and 64 percent (9-for-14) from the foul line.

• UMD shot 41 percent (29-for-71) from the field, 46 percent (10-for-22) from beyond the three-point arc and 65 percent (13-for-20) from the foul line.

• UMD held a 54-49 advantage on the glass, though RIC held a 19-15 advantage on the offensive glass.

• UMD dished out 20 assists on the night.

WHAT'S NEXT
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East play at Castleton on Saturday, Feb. 1 (7 p.m.).