UMass Dartmouth Clips Men’s Basketball, 80-69

HARTFORD, Conn. – Suffolk men's basketball was handed an 80-69 setback by UMass Dartmouth in the consolation contest of the Trinity Holiday Tournament New Year's Eve at Stan Ogrodnik Court at Ray Oosting Gymnasium.   

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 69 | UMass Dartmouth 80
RECORDS: Suffolk (6-5) | UMass Dartmouth (6-4) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Suffolk built an 11-4 advantage in the first four minutes, which the Corsairs quickly erased as they outscored the Rams 10-3 over the next four minutes to level the playing field at 14-all. 
• UMass Dartmouth managed to sneak in front, 16-14, before back-and-forth action consumed the remainder of the opening half, which sent the blue-and-gold into half down five, 40-35. 
• The Rams found themselves down double figures early one as UMD came out of the locker room on a 9-4 run.
• Suffolk's offense never truly got going and the gap grew to as many as 17, 63-46, at the midway point of the second half. 
• The blue-and-gold made one final push as it compiled a 14-3 run together that trimmed the margin to five, 70-65, with 2:55 remaining in regulation. That rally was well-balanced with five different scorers and only multiple buckets from Connor Strickland, who was responsible for four points.  
• Time was not in the Rams' favor, and they had to gamble on the foul game, which proved to pay off for the Corsairs, who clinched the game at the charity stripe. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Nick Verdile was the only Ram in double figures as he anchored Suffolk's scoring with a game-high 21 points on an 8-for-12 showing from the field that included a 5-for-9 effort from behind-the-arc. His stat line also featured three assists, two rebounds and two takeaways. 
• James Jones registered nine points, seven boards, six helpers and two steals. 
• Strickland supplied nine points, six caroms, two dimes and two steals. He shot 4-for-7 from the floor.
• Hatcher Nordquist also went 4-for-7 from the field to finish with nine points to go along with three rebounds and two assists. 
• UMass Dartmouth outrebounded Suffolk, 39-26. 
• Both teams converted in transition with 10 fastbreak points apiece. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk met UMass Dartmouth for the first time in program history. 
• Jones dished out a personal-best six assists. 
• Nordquist notched a career-high in points (9) and field goals made (4). 
• Verdile was selected to the Trinity Holiday Tournament Team.  

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
Suffolk turns its attention back to Conference of New England (CNE) play that is set to resume Saturday, Jan. 3 at Hartford at 3:00 p.m.