For the ninth time in the Little East Conference's 11-year history, UMass Dartmouth clinched the regular season title and will play host to the 1996-97 Men's LEC Post Season Tournament. Following three quarterfinal games on Feb. 25, the top-seeded Corsairs, ranked #20 in this weeks NABC Div. III poll, will host the semi-finals and championship game the Tripp Athletic Center, Feb 28 and March 1. The LEC tournament champion earns an automatic berth into the 1997 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament.

Coach Brian Baptiste's Corsairs climbed to #3 in this week's Northeast Region Division III poll with an 18-6 overall mark and 10-2 in the LEC. UMass Dartmouth wrapped up its regular season last Saturday with a come-from-behind 77-59 LEC victory over Southern Maine in Gorham, ME. Facing the winless Huskies, the Corsairs started slowly and found themselves trailing by 12 at halftime, 38-26. But in the second half, UMass Dartmouth found its shooting touch and outscored the Huskies 51-21 in the final 20 minutes enroute to a 77-59 victor and their 14th consecutive victory. Ryan Bland (Dartmouth, MA) led all scorers with a game-high 20 points (4-6 three pointers), while Mosadi Caldwell (Providence, RI) added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Captain Rick Taylor (Freetown, MA) hit for 14 points and nine rebounds and Jason Antonio (Mattapoisett, MA) chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.

For averaging 17 points and 4.5 rebounds in the Corsairs' two games last week, Bland received Honor Roll mention by the LEC this week. Bland finished the LEC regular season fourth in scoring (14 pts), ninth in rebounding (5.1 reb), seventh in free throw percentage (.733), fourth in three-point percentage (.380), second in assists (3.9 steals) and tops in steals (2.7). Caldwell finished the season as the conference's top rebounder, pulling down 8.0 rebounds per game, while Taylor was tied for fourth with 6.3 per game. Caldwell also was fifth in scoring (13.9 pts) and Taylor was tied for eighth with 12.5 points per game. Caldwell was also third in blocked shots (.9 per game) and seventh in steals (1.9). Among the other Corsairs among the LEC's statistical leaders were Antonio, sixth in free throw percentage (.744), eighth in assists (2.8), and third in steals (2.4). Tony Moreira (Pawtucket, RI) was tenth in free throw percentage (.648), while Taylor was fifth in blocked shots (.7 per game). As a team, UMass Dartmouth topped the LEC in three-point shooting percentage, connecting on 177-480 for 36.9%.

#1 UMass Dartmouth will open the semi-final round at 6 p.m. by hosting the #5 Rhode Island College Anchormen (17-9), who knocked off #4 Plymouth State in a quarterfinal game, 88-81. The second semi-final game is set for 8 p.m. and features the #2 seed UMass Boston (15-9), 62-50 quarterfinal winners over Southern Maine and #6 Eastern Connecticut (9-15), upset winners over #3 Western Connecticut, 85-81. The semi-final winners will face each other Saturday, March 1 in the 4 p.m. championship game.

Coach John Rolli's Corsairs will probably finish third in the ECAC Central this season, following last Saturday's 3-3 tie at second-place St. Michael's College. Bentley College still holds on to first place and has the best shot at the ECAC Central title. The 3-3 tie in Colchester, VT on Feb. 22 snapped a five-game winning streak by the Corsairs, who are fifth nationally in Division III scoring offense with 5.94 goals per game and seventh in scoring defense, allowing 2.78 goals per game.

Against St. Michael's, each team scored single goals in all three periods and no one scored in the overtime period. Trailing 1-0 in the opening period, Craig Hardy (Everett, MA) tied the game on an unassisted goal at 19:26. Jeramie DiBona (Weymouth, MA) put the Corsairs ahead 2-1 at 6:39 of the second period on a goal assisted by Brett Flint (Danvers, MA) and Hardy. Tied 2-2 after two periods, Suffolk University grabbed a 3-2 lead 26 seconds into the third period.

Jarrod DiBona (Weymouth, MA), last week's ECAC Central Co-Player of the Week, scored the game-tying and final goal with assists from captain Marc Salvi (Cheshire, MA) and Jason Cormier (Waltham, MA). The ECAC Central Rookie of the Week last week, Louis Weimann (Burlington, VT) made 38 saves in goal to boost his record to 6-1-1 with a 2.73 goals against average and a .904 saves percentage.

Following UMass Dartmouth's final ECAC Central game with Suffolk Univeristy Feb 26, the Corsairs will conclude their regular season with a non-conference game at Roger Williams University on March 1.

Pairings for the 1996-97 ECAC North-Central-South Tournament will be announced Sunday afternoon, March 2. Quarter-final games will take place at campus locations Wednesday, March 5 with the semi-final round set for Saturday, March 8. The remaining two teams will face off for the ECAC North-Central-South championship on March 12.

The Fitchburg State College Falcons are the defending champions, having defeated UMass Dartmouth 2-1 in overtime in last year's championship game played at Hetland Arena in New Bedford.

An 89-64 quarterfinal loss to Rhode Island College in the first round of the Little East Conference tournament brought to a conclusion the Corsairs 1996-97 season. UMass Dartmouth (4-20 overall, 2-11 LEC) had dropped an 88-35 decision to the LEC champions from Southern Maine in the season finale to draw the first-round game with RIC.

In the loss to Southern Maine in Gorham, ME, Coach Cathy Houtman's team fell victim to poor shooting, connecting on 14 of 60 from the floor. Kelly Berger (Buzzard's Bay, MA) was the Corsairs' top scorer with 16 points, including three three-pointers and three assists. Darilyn St. Germaine (Wareham, MA) had six points and seven rebounds, Shannon Martin (Scituate, MA) chipped in five points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Tricia Breton (New Bedford, MA) had four points and eight rebounds. Against RIC, it was again Berger leading the Corsairs in scoring with 24 points and Breton added 13 points and seven rebounds. Berger connected on four three-pointers and added seven rebounds and seven assists. Natarsha Silva (Brockton, MA) finished with four points, seven assists and two steals. St. Germaine scored nine points and added nine rebounds. UMass Dartmouth trailed by six at halftime, 40-34 but a 49-point second-half blitz by RIC was the difference.

With a late-season scoring surge, Berger finished eighth in LEC scoring with an 11.2 points per game average. Berger also finished sixth in assists (3.4). Although injured much of the second half of the season, St. Germaine placed 11th in scoring (10 pts), tied for third in rebounds (9.5 rebs) and placed third in blocked shots (1.1). Martin was sixth in rebounds (6.7 rebs) and fifth in steals (2.4). Silva was tenth in assists (2.4) and second in steals (3.2).

Based on their grades from the Fall 1996 semeser, seven Corsair student athletes were recently named to the UMass Dartmouth Chancellor's list for acheiving grade point averages of at least 3.8 on a scale of 4.0. Another 46 student atheltes were named to the Dean's List with grade point averages of at least 3.2 on the 4.0 scale.

Dave DeMello has submitted his resignation as assistant men's soccer coach for the Corsairs. He will join former UMass Dartmouth head coach Jim Cook at Roger Williams next fall. DeMello also recently signed a three-year contract with the Rhode Island Stinrays. A defensive back, DeMello has played for the Stingrays for the last three seasons...... Applications are being accepted for a pair of head coaching positions at UMass Dartmouth - men's soccer and women's volleyball. An assistant coach in men's and women's track and field with a specialization in throwing events is also being sought. Applications should be forwared to Associate Director of Athletics Judith Sullivan at the Tripp Center......Dan Wooster of Maine was the first prize winner in the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Department Raffle drawn on Feb. 18. Wooster won two round trip tickets to any destination in the continental U.S. The ticket drawing was sponsored by Northwest Airlines and were provided courtesy of Horizon Travel. The $250 second prize went to Liz Medeiros and the $125 third prize was won by M. Lemos.