WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – They say home is where the heart is, a statement that could not be truer for Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball in Geissler Gymnasium over the last three seasons.
Behind a 17-point performance from senior guard Tyreice Woods (Hartford) and a key block from the Hartford native in the closing minute, the Warriors (9-4, LEC 4-1) defeated Castleton University in a thrilling Little East Conference matchup, 61-60, Saturday afternoon. The win was the sixth for Eastern over the Spartans (5-8, 0-4 LEC) in their seven matchups all time, pushing their home record to 8-1 this year and 19-6 since the 2019-2020 season.
Hovering around or below .500 each of the last two seasons, the Warriors have come out making a statement during the 2021-2022 season with Woods and his team leading 12.8 points per game, the emergence of sophomore guard Max Lee (Norwich) in the starting rotation as an all-around player, junior forward Quinton Lott's (Bridgeport) presence in the paint, key minutes off the bench by junior forward Rakesh Tibby (East Hartford) and sophomore guard Cade Ensinger (Deep River) during pivotal moments of games, the return of junior guard Jalen Williams (Simsbury) to Eastern's starting lineup, and junior guard Meikyle Murray (Bronx, NY) who is averaging 20 minutes off the bench in two games since he transferred from Murray State College (OK).
However, on Saturday, the Warriors would be without the services of Lee, Lott, Murray, and Ensinger, forcing head coach Bill Geitner to turn to his bench in this pivotal conference game. Sophomore guard Chris Jones (Coventry) made his first career start for Eastern and Tibby made his first start of the season in place of Lott. The new lineup produced a strong start for the Warriors, using a 9-0 run off three consecutive three pointers from Woods, senior guard Thomas Close (East Hampton), and Williams to take a 14-7 lead with 14:41 remaining in the first half forcing Castleton to take a timeout.
That timeout proved to be crucial for the Spartans as they began a 14-0 run over the next 5:51 to take a seven-point lead. During the run, sophomore guard Darrel Hardge scored eight of Castleton's points en route to a 10 point (3-of-7 shooting), three rebound, three assist half. The Warriors would go 0-for-8 from the floor and commit two turnovers on the offensive end during those six minutes. Eastern would pull back within four on two separate occasions as the latter half of the first half wore on, but the Spartans would largely control play for the final seven minutes.
Using a 12-2 run to close out the first half, Castleton's balanced offensive attack spurred them to a 13-point advantage, 37-24, heading into the halftime locker room. Following the first initial timeout of the first half for the Spartans, they would outscore the Warriors 30-10 over the remaining 16-plus minutes. Castleton would not commit their first foul until 2:02 remained in the first half.
Eastern shot only 9-for-30 from the field in the first half, including 6-for-21 from three-point range as Jalen Williams led the way for the Warriors with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 2-for-3 shooting from three. Behind him was Close with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting, all of his shots came from long range. However, Castleton held a 21-14 advantage on the boards, 20-2 advantage in the paint, and outscored Eastern's bench 9-0 through the opening 20 minutes which proved to be the difference.
The second half would be a different story for the Warriors as their halftime adjustments would lead to a 10-0 run over the first 3 ½ minutes in which they would utilize the size of Tibby in the paint and crucial three free throws by Close after he was fouled by Hardge to work their way back into the game. Graduate forward Oluwadare Sowunmi broke up the run with a layup to put the Spartans back up by five, but Eastern's offensive adjustment and suffocating defense would be relentless throughout the second half.
Capping off of 21-7 run in the first seven minutes of the second half, the Warriors took their first lead of the game since 12:17 remained in the first half, 14-13. Both teams would trade baskets with Eastern taking a 52-50 lead on a pair of Tibby free throws with 9:40 left before Castleton responded with a 7-0 run over the next two-plus minutes to go ahead 57-52 behind two Sowunmi shots in the paint and a three by junior John Walsh.
Never backing down in this one, the Warriors answered back with an 8-0 run starting with two more Tibby free throws before Woods took over with six straight points to put Eastern ahead, 59-57, with 3:04 remaining. The six-point stretch capped off an 11-point performance over nine minutes in the second half. The Spartans had a chance to tie the game at the 1:46 mark when Hardge hit Sowunmi wide open under the hoop but Sowunmi's shot would bounce off the side of the rim and into the hands of Woods. With about 1:30 left, a pass by Close was nearly stolen away by Hardge but Jalen Williams was able to gain control of the loose ball and knock down a floater from just beyond the free throw line to put the Warriors ahead by four.
After starting the second half 0-for-8 from the floor, Darrell Hardge's first field goal of the half came from three-point land with 59 seconds left, bringing the game within one, 61-60. The next Eastern possession would see a layup attempt by Woods blocked by Sowunmi, giving Castleton a chance for the final shot and the win.
A trio of fouls to give by Woods against Hardge led to the Spartan's leading scorer having a chance to win it in isolation against Woods with five seconds left. The sophomore's jumper was blocked by Woods and recovered by Tibby who was fouled with two seconds, going to the line for a one-and-one. Shadowing Darrell Hardge for most of the second half, Woods held Hardge to three second half points on 1-of-11 shooting.
After missing the front end of the one-and-one, Castleton would have one more chance to win it, but with Woods guarding him, Hardge would be unable to get a shot off before time expired as the Warriors turned the tables on the Spartans, outscoring them by 14 points in the second half to win, 61-60. Coming into the game, Eastern was 0-4 when trailing at halftime this year.
Four Warrior starters finished in double figures with Tyreice Woods and Thomas Close scoring 17 points each while Jalen Williams finished with 16 points and Rakesh Tibby with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Tibby's double-double was the second of his career, his first came on February 14th, 2021 against NYU-Lyndon when the East Hartford native recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds. Woods would tack on seven assists, six rebounds, and two blocks while Close played all 40 minutes and did not turn the ball over. As a team, Eastern only turned the ball over four times in the game while Castleton had nine turnovers.
The second half starters for the Warriors played all but four minutes when Tibby was given a rest for first-year guard Benjamin Toussaint (Bellmore, NY) with 5:27 left in regulation and Close was lifted for sophomore forward Andrew Cutter (Trumbull) for the final inbounds play. The Eastern bench played 20 minutes during the game and was unable to record a point while the Spartans generated 14 total bench points, five in the second half.
The new and improved Warriors have now started 4-1 in conference play beginning with big wins against UMass Boston and preseason conference favorite UMass Dartmouth to start Little East competition earlier this season. A double-digit home win over Plymouth State on Wednesday and then Saturday's defeat of Castleton has Eastern playing red hot, winning six of their last seven games overall and four of their first five conference games this year. With Saturday afternoon's victory, the Warriors who were picked to finish sixth in the conference preseason poll are currently ranked second, leapfrogging Rhode Island College (3-1 LEC) by way of conference percentage and trailing only Keene State (3-0 LEC) who leads the pack.
For as good as Eastern has been at home over the last couple of years, their struggles on the road since the 2019-2020 season have been well documented. The Warriors are just 5-16 away from Geissler Gymnasium in the same stretch in which they have had their home success, including 1-3 to start this season. With seven of the next nine games coming on the road for Eastern against Little East Conference opponents, flipping the script on their road woes will be imperative to continuing an already successful season.
The Warriors will look to turn that narrative around when they head north to Gorham, Maine next Thursday to take on University of Southern Maine in a Little East Conference matchup at Warren Hill Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM. This will be the first game between the two teams since the 2019-2020 season with the last matchup going in favor of Eastern, 94-66, in Geissler Gymnasium. The Warriors have won seven of their last eight games versus Southern Maine and 22 of their last 25 dating back to the 2007-2008 which was the last time they lost two consecutive games to the Huskies.