Providence, R.I.--The Rhode Island College men's basketball team dropped an 84-66 decision against UMass Dartmouth in a Little East Conference contest played at The Murray Center on Wednesday evening.

Junior guard Jovel Beckford (Providence, RI) and freshman guard Chris Farrington (Fall River, MA) tallied 10 points each to lead RIC (9-12, 3-8 LEC). Sophomore forward Benjamin Vezele (Providence, RI) narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards.

Senior guard Jon Robinson (Chatham, MA) led the way for UMass Dartmouth (15-7, 8-3 LEC) with a game high 16 points and three steals. Freshman forward Mert Sert (Istanbul, Turkey) added 13 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Tucker Bouchard (Kingston, MA) added 11 points and three assists. Sophomore forward Atakan Akcam (Ankara, Turkey) nearly registered a double-double with 10 points and eight boards.

Rhode Island College had control of the contest early and led, 17-10, after a three-pointer from sophomore guard Jimmy Fritzson (Sharon, MA) with 11:36 left in the first half. The Anchormen led by as many as seven points several times in the stanza, including, 30-23, after a layup by Farrington with 4:46 remaining in the half. RIC took a 34-32 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

UMass Dartmouth took its first lead since the opening basket of the contest when a free throw by sophomore forward Atakan Akcam (Istanbul, Turkey) put the Corsairs up, 35-34, with 18:10 left in the contest. UMass Dartmouth posted its first double digit advantage after a three-pointer by Bouchard put the score at 57-45 with 10:36 remaining.  The Corsairs then built throughout the remainder of the second half to cruise to the win.

RIC shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the field, 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from behind the three-point stripe and 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the free throw line. UMass Dartmouth shot 41.7 percent (30-of-72) from the field, 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from three-point land and 81.8 percent (18-for-22) from the free throw line

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference play at home against Southern Maine on Saturday, Feb. 11 (3 p.m.).