PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Third-seeded Rhode Island College and fourth-seeded University of Massachusetts Boston won their respective 2025 Little East Conference (LEC) Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament First Round Games Tuesday night to advance to Thursday’s Semifinal Round.
The Beacons will head to top-seeded and three-time defending champion Keene State College for a 7 p.m. start, while the Anchormen will head to second-seeded Western Connecticut State University for a 6 p.m. tip off.
No. 3 Rhode Island College 80, No. 6 UMass Dartmouth 64
Reigning LEC Co-Player of the Week Ousmane Kourouma went off for 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor while pulling down 15 rebounds to lead the Anchormen (16-10) to tonight’s victory. Deyshawn Tengbeh poured in 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor, while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing four assists.
The Corsairs (9-17) were more balanced in their scoring contributions, with Ryan Flauto’s 13 points leading the way. Isaac Percy (12 points) and Trent Santos (10 points) and scored in double-figures, while Josh Lopes added nine points and Danny Reyes chipped in with eight.
RIC shot 50-percent (34-of-68) from the floor, while holding UMass Dartmouth to 31-percent (20-of-65) from the field and 19-percent (5-of-27) shooting from three-point range. The Corsairs free throw shooting helped keep the game close, as they were 19-of-26 at the line compared to a 6-for-10 performance from the hosts.
No. 4 UMass Boston 108, No. 5 Southern Maine 93
Emmanuel Zayas and Raphel Laurent both went off for a game-high 27 points to lead the Beacons (14-11) to the opening round victory over the visiting Huskies (12-14), both shooting nearly 60-percent from the field. Laurent added nine steals, four assists and four boards, while Zayas added four steals, four rebounds and three assists. Xavier McKenzie and Davon Sanders both scored 16 points for UMass Boston, while Anthony Gauthier chipped in with 10 points.
USM also had five player scored in double-figures, led by a 22-point effort from Thomas Whelan on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. Evans Sterling scored 16 points on a perfect shooting performance, hitting all six field goal attempts and each of his four free throws. Bryce Lausier netted 13 points, while Brady Saunders and Evan Willey added 12 points each.
Both teams shot well from the floor and at the line in this contest. UMass Boston was 38-of-75 (51 percent) from the floor and 25-33 (76 percent) at the line, while Southern Maine was 30-of-60 (50 percent) from the floor and went 26-of-30 (87 percent) from the charity stripe. The Beacons dominated the Huskies in the paint (60-38) and in points off turnovers (32-13).