Providence, R.I.-Junior forward Terrance Tribble (White Plains, NY) and freshman center Jason Jones (Roxbury, MA) each recorded double-doubles as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team fell, 77-72, to UMass Dartmouth in Little East Conference action played at The Murray Center on Wednesday night.

The Anchormen (2-14, 1-5 LEC) opened the first half strong, racing out to a 19-12 advantage following a layup by freshman forward Justin Campbell (New Haven, CT) with 12:54 left in the half. UMass Dartmouth (10-6, 3-3 LEC) responded by going on a 10-0 run, which was capped by a trey by junior guard Jon Robinson (Chatham, MA) with 11:03 remaining, to take a three-point 22-19 lead.

The lead see-sawed back and forth before back-to-back three pointers by senior guard Justin Rezendes (Onset, MA) extended the lead to eight, 39-31, with 3:32 left in the first half. A layup by Tribble cut the deficit down to six, but a made jumper as time expired sent UMD into the locker room with a 43-35 advantage at the half.

RIC shot 41.7 percent (15-for-36) from the field in the first half with the Corsairs shooting 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the floor as a team.

UMass extended its advantage to 12 points, 57-45, after a pair of thee throws by freshman center Nick Portelance (Fairhaven, MA), but the Anchormen responded with a layup by Jones with 8:11 left in the contest to cut the deficit down to three, 63-60. A jumper by RIC freshman guard Jimmy Fritzson (Sharon, MA) made it a one point game, 63-62, with 7:15 remaining in the game, but the Corsairs were able to hit clutch free throws down the stretch and hold off a late run by the Anchormen to secure the 77-72 victory.

RIC shot 44.4 percent (32-for-72) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from downtown and 33.3 percent (2-for-6) from the free throw line. Tribble had 12 points and 15 boards to lead the Anchormen. Jones scored a team-high 16 points and corralled 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Chris Green (Taunton, MA) rounded out the Anchormen in double figures with 14 points.

The Corsairs shot 43.5 percent (27-for-62) from the field, 22.2 percent (6-for-27) from three-point land and 81.0 percent (17-for-21) from the charity stripe. Rezendes, the second leading scorer in the country, scored 26 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists, while going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Portelance was second on the squad in scoring, scoring 18 points to go along with eight rebounds. 

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference play at home against Plymouth State on Saturday, Jan. 23 (3 p.m.).