First impressions: Corsairs roll in LEC tournament opener

Brandon Stephens shielding the defender as he breaks baseline.

By Trevor Medeiros

If Tuesday night’s game against UMass Boston is any indication of how the UMD Men’s basketball team is going to perform in this year’s Little East Conference tournament, then Corsair fans are going to have a lot to celebrate about.

The Corsairs jumped out to a 35-17 first-half lead during the February 26 game and never looked back, as they rolled to a whopping 131-63 victory over the Beacons in the quarterfinals of the LEC tournament Tuesday night at the Tripp Athletic Center.

The game was tied at 15 before UMD went on a 20-2 run to take an 18-point lead midway through the first half. The run was sparked by sophomore Matt Walker, who came off the bench after A.J. Tavares suffered a cut to his elbow.

Walker hit a couple of shots and took a charge to swing the pendulum solely in the direction of the Corsairs.

The highlight of the run came when Walker stole the ball and dished it behind the back to Reece Freeman, who dumped it off to Jeff Macchi for an easy lay-up. Then Tavares came back in and drilled three straight three-pointers with three minutes left in the half, and the Corsairs hit the locker room with a 67-36 halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same for UMD. Freeman kept the pedal to the metal with his defense, turning a couple of steals into easy baskets.

However, the highlight of the second half came when senior co-captain Dan Holbrook took a pass from Freeman and ran down an open court, finishing with a one-handed dunk. That play stretched the Corsair lead to 97-49.

Holbrook came out of the game a few minutes later to a hearty applause and chants of “Hol-brook, Hol-brook” from some of the UMD students.

With the win, UMD improved to 24-2, while the Beacons finished their season at 2-24. Next up for the Corsairs is a LEC tourney semifinal game Friday, February 29, at the Tripp Athletic Center.

Cory Tynes lays the ball in for an easy score during the Corsairs’ 131-63 victory on Tuesday evening.

ICE HOCKEY

UMD cooks up a victory vs. Johnson & Wales

By Trevor Medeiros

Last Wednesday, while the seniors from UMD’s ice hockey team were playing their last regular-season game at Hetland, it was a freshman who proved to be the winning difference. Freshman forward Jason Stahl scored the go-ahead goal with three minutes remaining in the third period as the Corsairs won a wild 5-4 contest over the Johnson and Wales Wildcats.

Fans who attended the game saw 19 penalties, three power play goals, one shorthanded goal, and several spectacular saves from UMD goalie Jeff Green and JWU goalie Charlie Bacon.

“For a spectator, it might have been an entertaining game,” said UMD head coach John Rolli. “For a coach, it was close to a death sentence.”

Stahl was able to score the game-winner off a rebound after the Corsairs won a faceoff in the JWU zone. He moved up to the first line for the game after Paul Garabedian came down with the flu.

“That was a big goal,” said Rolli.

The game certainly finished better for UMD than it started. Wildcat Matt McGilvray scored the game’s first goal shorthanded, beating Green with a wrist shot from the left side seven minutes into the opening period. The Corsairs almost tied it a few minutes later, but Chris Shore was robbed on a diving glove save by Bacon.

Johnson & Wales took a 1-0 lead into the locker room, but their lead was gone in a blink of an eye. First, Mickey Dudley (another freshman) scored on a wrist shot in the slot during a 4-on-4 situation to tie the game.

“He’s gonna be an all-rookie team selection, at least in my book,” said Rolli of Dudley.

Then, Jeff Grant scored a power play goal, and the Corsairs had scored two goals within the first 40 seconds of the second period to take the lead. The Wildcats went ahead again later in the period, but Shore scored to tie the game heading into the third period.

Senior captain Tyler Crocker’s power play goal (a one-timer in the slot) gave the Corsairs the lead again eight minutes into the final period. However, McGilvray scored another goal on a rebound to tie the game again.

After, Stahl’s go-ahead goal, JWU pulled Bacon with 1:20 left, leaving the pressure on the shoulders of Green to make the goal stand up. Green made a clutch save with 24 seconds left, and UMD held on for the victory.

“We were playing pretty good in front of him, too,” said Rolli.

Rolli noted that it was Johnson and Wales’ desperation, not a flat Corsair effort that kept UMD off the scoreboard in the opening period. The Wildcats had to win their final three games to qualify for the ECAC Northeast tournament.

“They were going all out. All-in-all, we played just well enough to win tonight.”

Meanwhile, a 3-2 victory last Saturday against Nichols wrapped up a number two seed for UMD in the upcoming conference tourney. That means UMD fans will have at least one more chance to cheer on their team at Hetland this season (two, if they win the opener on Saturday).

“It’s a long year,” said Rolli. “It’s coming down to the end.”

The opening faceoff is set for 4:30.

Swimmers finish sixth at championship

BRISTOL, RI — The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s men’s swimming team finished sixth in a 14-team field at the New England Intercollegiate Men’s Division II and III Swimming and Diving Championships, which concluded Sunday at the Roger Williams University Aquatic Center.

UMass Dartmouth had 180 points, 72 points behind Bryant and nine points ahead of St. Michael’s.  Bentley finished first with 619 points.

For the Corsairs, sophomore Nate Landry finished 10th in the 200 yard butterfly in 2:15.17, freshman Kurt Chlebek finished 11th in the 1650 freestyle in 18:20.25, and freshman David Lyons was 12th in the 100 yard individual medley in 1:00.81.  Sophomore Matt Faheywas fourth (334.20 points), senior George Aulson was fifth (323.75 points), and freshman Bryan Riddick was ninth (268.50 points) in the three meter diving.

“We finished sixth overall, which is great,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Cathy Motta. “It surpsssed what we expected.”

The Corsairs will compete at the ECAC Championships this weekend.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Pac-10 close to a perfect ten this season

By Trevor Medeiros

When it comes to conference supremacy in college basketball, the ACC usually has bragging rights. With schools like North Carolina, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, and Maryland under its belt, the ACC is a conference full of tradition and success.

Then, after the ACC raided the Big East for quality football schools (BC, Miami, Virginia Tech), the Big East expanded to an incredible 16 teams, and they became the best college basketball conference in the nation. While these two conferences are usually fighting with each other for the top ranking in the RPIs, this year, they have both taken a back seat to a conference whose schools play 3,000 miles away.

That’s right: the Pac 10 conference has taken over (at least in my book) as the top conference in the land. Outside of Duke and North Carolina, the ACC lacks quality teams right now, and despite all those programs the Big East can throw out there, there’s more than a handful of them (Providence, USF, Seton Hall, St. John’s, DePaul, Rugters, Syracuse) who are having seasons to forget.

Meanwhile, the Pac 10 could send as many as seven teams to March Madness when selection Sunday takes place in a few weeks. Let’s take a look at some of the teams in this loaded conference.

Of course, we have to start at the top, and UCLA is a pretty good place to start. I showed my man-love for Kevin Love last week, but let’s not forget about his teammates. Russell Westbrook, Darren Collison, and Josh Shipp all could be first-round NBA draft picks this spring, Alfred Aboya is an athletic freak, and Lorenzo Mata-Real gives the Bruins some needed grit coming off the bench.

This team is also very stingy on defense, a trademark of Ben Howland’s teams. They’ve reached the Final Four the last two years, and I’ll be shocked if they don’t get back there this year. However, their lack of three-point shooting could be their downfall in the tourney.

Another team who plays stingy defense is Washington State. Yeah, you may not know anyone on the team, but Coach Tony Bennett and his Cougars are on the verge of building a powerhouse in Pullman. They have a great homecourt advantage, are unselfish, and drive opponents crazy with their disciplined style of play. I’ll take Robbie Cowgill on my team any day; the kid does a little bit of everything. And Derrick Low may be the only three-point specialist in the country with a pony tail, but he’s certainly the best.

Led by the Twin Towers (literally), the Stanford Cardinal is back in the top ten for the first time in a while. Twin brothers Brook and Robin Lopez are the two biggest (no pun intended) reasons why Stanford is back among college basketball’s elite. This team is well coached by Trent Johnson, plays solid defense and don’t beat themselves (in case you forgot, you have to be pretty smart to play for Stanford).

Usually, it’s Arizona that’s at the top of the Pac 10. However, they’ve had kind of a down year so far this winter. Kevin O’Neill took over the coaching reins for legend Lute Olson, who left the team for personal reasons. But don’t count these Wildcats out just yet. They recently beat Washington State in Pullman, and have maybe the best young point guard in the country in Jerryd Bayless. Also, Chase Buddinger is a monster forward who will have the biggest say in how far his team goes depending on how well he plays down the stretch.

The Wildcats were swept by in-state rival Arizona State. The Sun Devils didn’t produce many wins last season, but now Coach Herb Sendeck and his players have ASU fans believing in Tempe. Jeff Pendergraph’s a beast inside, and freshman James Harden has been playing out of his mind lately; the Sun Devils recently posted a comeback win over Stanford, and could be primed for a tournament push.

The USC Trojans have been inconsistent this season, but if they get their act together, they could make a deep tournament run themselves. We all know about O.J. Mayo, but let’s not forget about impressive athletes like Taj Gibson. This big man could create a lot of problems for opponents if the Trojans squeak into the tourney. Plus, they’ve already beaten UCLA, so they have the talent to compete with the country’s elite. Mayo and company just have to play smarter basketball to give USC the chance to experience March Madness.

To add on top of this impressive resume, Oregon made it to the Elite Eight last year, and could be the lucky seventh team to make it into the NCAAs. Plus, the conference’s best player, Ryan Anderson, plays for a team (Cal) that won’t make it to the big dance. This just goes to show you why the Pac 10 is college basketball’s best conference in the country this year.

Women’s track places 16th

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Freshman Linee Mello-Frost broke the school record and turned in an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s women’s track and field team finished 16th in a 24-team field at the New England Division III Championships at Smith’s Indoor Track and Tennis Center Saturday.

Mello-Frost ran the 55 meter hurdles in 8.49 in the trials, which broke the school record of 8.60 seconds that she set last week. That time also put her on the list of provisional qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. In the finals, she finished third in 8.61 seconds.

The Corsairs scored six points in the meet.  Tufts finished first with 136 points.

Senior Leanne Nygaard finished 17th in the mile, running a personal best time of 5:25.25. In the shot put, junior Hilary Baker finished 11th at 34 feet, six inches.

“It was a good day, and everyone did well,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Jon Hird. “Linee and Leanne ran personal bests, and Hilary did a very good job against very good competition.”

The Corsairs will travel to Boston University for the Open New England Championships this weekend.

Men’s track and field 14th at NE Division III

MEDFORD, Mass. — Senior Jon Garcia barely missed the meet record, and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s men’s track and field team finished 14th in a 24-team field at the New England Division III Championships at Tufts’ Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center Saturday.

Garcia finished first in the 55 meter hurdles in 7.58 seconds, just nine hundredths of a second off the meet record. The Corsair men scored 14 points in the meet, which was won by host Tufts with 118 points.

Senior Chris Jodoin finished fifth at 400 meters in 50.94 seconds, senior Eric Holmes was 10th at 3000 meters in 8:56.24, and the 4 x 800 meter relay team of freshman Steve Burke, sophomore Tim Whelan, freshman Eric Nygaard and sophomore Matt Lemanski finished 10th in 8:14.09.

“We did well,” said Assistant Coach Steve Gardiner, who accompanied the men to Tufts. “Jon Garcia started off very well, but he hit the third hurdle and just missed the meet record. Chris Jodoin ran well, and the 4 x 8 guys were very excited about qualifying for the ECACs. It’ll give them a good opportunity to improve on their time in a couple of weeks at Harvard.”

The Corsairs will travel to Boston University for the Open New England Championships this weekend.

MMA

Five key points for Henderson’s win this weekend

By Timm Freitas

For the greater part of the last two years, UFC fans have watched Anderson Silva dominate the middleweight division. And on Saturday, he will meet his stiffest competition yet, Pride Middleweight Champ, Dan Henderson.

Now, it is common knowledge that Pride is defunct, but Henderson was the middleweight champion at the time it was sold to Zuffa (UFC’s parent company), and just like when Henderson fought Quinton Jackson last September, this fight unifies the belts.

Really, this is probably just a marketing scheme, the champion vs. champion theme, but there is no doubt that Dan Henderson is the real deal and brings with him a big win over another Brazillian knock-out king, Wanderlei Silva.

Even though Henderson has shown he deserves his chance to prove he is the best middleweight, Anderson Silva assuredly is no pushover. So here are five points that Henderson should adhere to in order to pick up the win, and be the first Pride fighter to unify the belts

1. Henderson should revert to his wrestling foundation: Henderson is a wrestler, and everyone knows that. He needs to use his size advantage and skill to overpower Silva and push him up against the cage.

2. Avoid the Clinch: What Henderson has going for him is that his world-class Greco-Roman wrestling skills may be able to save him in the clinch with Silva. But, what Silva has proven time and time again is that he may have the most dangerous clinch in MMA. So, Henderson may be able to work his way out of the clinch with Silva, but it definitely will not be without sustaining a lot of damage.

3. Come out swinging: It is important that Henderson put Silva on the defensive from the get go. In all of his fights Silva has been truly on the defensive only once (his fight with Travis Lutter). Henderson needs to push the pace and apply the pressure on Silva, putting him in a position that he is not used to in the Octagon.

4. Take it to the ground: In all of his fights in the UFC Anderson Silva has seen the mat for about 3 minutes total, so he’s not used to it. Now, Silva is a black belt in Brazilian ju-jitsu, but everyone knows his skill on the ground does not compare to his striking, so Henderson needs to get him where he’s weakest (and I say that loosely because Silva may be the best pound for pound fighter in the world).

5. Use his head, and not as a target: This final statement may seem stupid, but it’s legitimate advice. In his almost 30 professional fights, Dan Henderson has not been knocked out. So Henderson should not be over confident in his ability to stand with Silva because Silva has proven to be a knockout artist. Sure, Henderson stood with Wanderlei Silva and won, but this is a different fight on a different day.

In all, every fight has a chance to go either way. I would say Anderson Silva is favored, and rightly so, but out of all of the contenders, without a doubt Dan Henderson has the best chance of dethroning the Champion.