By Sports Editor Tom Griffin
Minimizing mistakes led head coach Brian Baptiste and the Corsair men’s basketball team to a week of breaking even and a new record set for victories.
With the Corsairs’ dismantling of the Southern Maine Huskies this past Saturday, Baptiste earned his 650th victory at the head coaching position.
To start the week’s events, UMassD faced off against Tufts in a non-conference exhibition match, of which the Jumbos emerged handily victorious.
At a final score of 91-78 in favor of Tufts, this matchup was won not by scoring proficiency but by time of possession and total scoring opportunities. With a 45.8% field goal percentage in 72 attempts (as opposed to the Jumbo’s respective 43.8% accuracy in 73), the Corsairs didn’t find themselves outscored in any severe manner.
The real difference-maker was turnover potential. Despite Harry Alexander’s nine rebounds in yet another defensive showcase, the Corsairs lagged behind the Jumbos in terms of both total rebounds and turnovers. As such, the Jumbos’ substandard shooting accuracy was offset by having near–endless opportunities to score off of missed attempts.
On the UMassD offensive front, newcomer Adam Seablom played his strongest game of the young season, leading the Corsairs in scoring with 21 points in ten layups and a free throw on the afternoon.
With the matchup against Tufts in hindsight, the Corsairs sought a blowout of their own, and found it in an 83-56 rout of Southern Maine.
The Corsairs’ consistency within the paint, which had earlier in the week kept them just outside victory’s reach, proved to be their main strength against the Huskies. Sporting a 47.1% shooting accuracy, their offense overwhelmed and took advantage of a weakened Southern Maine scoring effort, running up the score against the 32.3% accurate Huskies.
Spearheaded once again by Harry Alexander, who managed 15 total rebounds against Southern Maine, the Corsairs led the Huskies in both total rebounds (with 46) and points resulting from turnovers, suffocating the already struggling Huskies.
Coming off the bench to lead his team, Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer scored 18 points on the afternoon, with Jake Ashworth and Adam Seablom trailing not far behind with 17 and 16 points contributed, respectfully.
In his 650th win, Baptiste, now 650-340, finds himself ranked third amongst active Division III coaches in total wins, and thirteenth in the history of the division.
Seated at a lofty 5-2 on the season, the Corsairs look to extend their winning season against Brandeis before heading into the Thanksgiving break.
