DARTMOUTH, Mass. --  Senior Jake Ashworth (Fairhaven, Mass.) scored 23 points and connected for seven three-pointers, as UMass Dartmouth opened its 2020-21 season with a 76-41 Little East Conference men's basketball victory over Castleton Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center.

The first event held on campus in 322 days saw the host Corsairs (1-0, 1-0 LEC) race out to an 18-4 advantage in the opening 10-plus minutes of play, and after the visiting Spartans (0-1, 0-1 LEC) sliced that margin to nine on a corner trey by senior Eric Shaw (Sutter Creek, N.Y.), Ashworth capped a 9-0 run with a triple that helped UMass Dartmouth build a 36-20 edge at the break. 

Castleton scored five of the first seven points after intermission to climb within 13 (38-25) on a lay-in by freshman Michael Eurquhart Jr. (Pittsfield, Mass.), but the hosts pulled away by scoring 14 unanswered points over a five-minute stretch to take a 52-25 lead on junior Marcus Azor's (Brockton, Mass.) jumper with 12:16 remaining in the contest.  The last large Corsair run of the afternoon (15-0) saw that margin balloon to 40 points (72-32) on senior Jarron Santos's (East Providence, R.I.) three-pointer with 6:26 to play in the game, as UMass Dartmouth notched its fifth triumph over the Spartans since Castleton joined the Little East in 2018-19.

Ashworth accounted for over half of the Corsairs' production (13) from behind the arc, as he added three assists and three steals in the win for the hosts.  Junior Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds for UMass Dartmouth, which also received 10 points, four assists and a pair of steals from Santos in his debut.  Freshman Isaac Percy (Pittsfield, Mass.) added nine points in his first collegiate contest for the Corsairs, who received eight points and five boards from junior Drew Plante (Swansea, Mass.) along with six points and nine caroms from sophomore Jackson Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.).

Azor added seven assists and a game-high 10 rebounds on the day for UMass Dartmouth, which received four points and five boards from fellow junior Sean Leahy (Hanson, Mass.).  The Corsairs, who held a 44-33 edge on the glass, shot 45 percent (29-64) from the field and amassed 58 percent of their total shot attempts (37) from behind the arc, as the hosts recorded 22 assists and turned 15 Spartan turnovers into 20 points.

Sophomore Remy Brown (Boca Raton, Fla.) scored 13 points in the setback for Castleton, which received nine points from Shaw along with eight points and three rebounds from freshman Darrell Hardge (Miami, Fla.).  Senior Olu Sowummi (Harlem, N.Y.) and freshman Joe Alamprese (Rensselaer, N.Y.) each collected seven boards for the visitors, who shot 29 percent (16-56) from the floor and canned seven three-pointers but were outscored by a 30-16 margin in the paint.

UMass Dartmouth travels to Providence, R.I. on Wednesday evening to take on Rhode Island College in a Little East clash that tips-off at 6:30 pm, while Castleton heads to Keene, N.H. for a Little East encounter with Keene State on Wednesday evening that tips-off at 7:00 pm.