DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Clutch free throws in the final seconds by seniors Adam Seablom and Marcus Azor held off Keene State as the No. 25 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team survived, 84-81, in front of a raucous Tripp Athletic Center crowd Wednesday night.

The Corsairs (19-2, 11-1 LEC) need to win only one of their four remaining games to capture the Little East Conference regular season crown, although winning out would be ideal. Azor nearly had a triple-double with 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds with two steals. Seablom was perfect from 3-point land (4-4) to finish with 18 points, while senior Sean Leahy notched 16 points, and junior Jackson Zancan tallied 11 points and five rebounds.

UMass Dartmouth takes the season series and has now won four straight game over Keene State and six of its last seven dating back to 2020.

The Owls (15-6, 10-4 LEC) have dropped four of their last six games, but still remain in second place in the conference, one game ahead of Eastern Connecticut in the win column. Senior Jeric Cichon led Keene State with 24 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Junior Jeff Hunter had a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double, and sophomore Nate Siow put up 11 points, nine boards and nine assists.

Azor drained a triple right off the bat and assisted on another deep-ball by Leahy to get the Corsairs out to an early 6-4 advantage. After a quick 5-0 UMassD run, Keene State went on a 7-0 run of its own, to even the score at 11 at 16:46. Seablom then nailed his first three of the night and hit two at the line before an Azor layup and a Leahy 3-ball, made it a 21-11 lead with 13:00 to go in the first.

Keene State responded with a 9-2 run over the next four minutes, cutting its deficit to 23-20 with 9:10 in the half. Six points from Zancan and a free throw from sophomore Isaac Percy extended the lead back to 10 (30-20) with 6:30 on the clock. UMass Dartmouth had a counterpunch for every shot by the Owls. Keene's Hunter and Azor traded dunks in the final minute as the Corsairs took a 44-35 lead to the break.

A 9-2 Keene State run to start the second brought the score to 46-44 with 16:35 to go. Seablom responded with back-to-back 3-pointers and Leahy made a pair in the paint to quickly build the lead back to 10 points (56-46). The teams then went back-and-forth until under the 10-minute mark.

With the Corsairs on top, 66-56, with 9:15 left, Keene State made its move. Consecutive triples made it a 66-62 game as Azor, Leahy and Ashworth made shots to hold off the Owls down the stretch. Keene State's Cichon kept it close, but Seablom and Zancan hit key shots as the game entered the final minute.

Keene State sunk two at the free throw line to make it 81-78 with 39 seconds left. The Owls then had a solid defensive possession, forcing Seablom to take a tough shot, but he was fouled and made one at the line with 12 seconds left, bringing the score to 82-78. Cichon drilled a three at the other end, cutting the score to 82-81. Azor then did his job, making both at the charity stripe, and the last second three would not fall for the Owls.

UMass Dartmouth is at Plymouth State next for a 1 p.m. tip off.