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Charity to benefit Be The Match is combined with Team IMPACT

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - The Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer team and alumni will sponsor a Goal-a-Thon to benefit the Be The Match National Marrow Donor Program Saturday, April 20 at 9 a.m. at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

All proceeds from the Goal-a-Thon will benefit the Be The Match program in the name of Eastern soccer senior Jon DeCasanova, who was diagnosed with aplastic anemia this past fall and has spent most of the past eight months in the hospital.

The Goal-a-Thon involves Eastern players and alumni divided into teams of 4-6 and will play timed, small-sided games until a combined total of 100 goals are scored.The minimum sponsorship is 5 cents per goal.

Prior to the Goal-a-Thon,  15-year-old Tyler Belfleur of Canterbury will be outfitted in a team uniform and will join team members during official introductions as part of the Team IMPACT! Program.  In June of 2012, Tyler was involved in an ATV accident and sustained brain injury. Since then, he has advanced from a wheelchair to a walk and now needs only a crutch. Prior to the injury, Tyler was active in soccer and basketball, among other sports.

Team IMPACT is a non-profit organization chartered to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening illnesses. The goal of the organization is to harness the power of teamwork by matching those courageous kids with college athletic teams. Team IMPACT children are "drafted" onto local college athletic teams and to the greatest extent possible, become "official" members of the team for the duration of their treatment, and beyond.

Tyler will be "drafted" by the Eastern soccer team prior to the Goal-a-Thon.

To support the Goal-a-Thon through a financial contribution, contact Eastern head men's soccer coach Greg DeVito at  860-465-4334 or at devitog@easternct.edu.

 By Jonathan Mizger/Sports Information Staff

The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has designated the month of March as National Athletic Training Month.

The theme of the second annual NATA month is Every Body Needs an Athletic Trainer. From the NATA  toolkit, the goal  is "to continue to reach those individuals and organizations that can help make a difference for athletic trainers when it comes to legislation, employment and public health."

At right: Athletic trainer Julie Alexander works recently with baseball catcher Ben Richards, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. (Daniela Marchitto photo)

Promoting the awareness of athletic training to people who do not know what athletic trainers do is a key goal that the NATA looks to achieve. Educating people of the importance of athletic trainers and establishing relationships between student-athletes and athletic trainers are things to consider in promoting the awareness.

Eastern Connecticut State University has athletic trainers who work hard without needing any recognition or high praise. The athletic trainers at Eastern are people who are helpful to the student-athletes and make sure each are cleared to play based on the guidelines on handling a specific injury.

Below (from left): Eastern athletic trainers Julie Alexander, Stevie Clines, Tom Holton, Jarrett Sorge.

Athletic trainer Julie Alexander, who graduated from Eastern with a B.S. in Psychology and went on to earn a M.S. in Athletic Training at Old Dominion University, expressed her feelings on the importance of this month and beyond.

"I think that we will carry out our day-to-day functions the same way we always have," said Alexander. "Any athlete that comes in with an illness or an injury that's athletically-related, we care for the same way regardless of whether it's March, April, May, August or September.  I think this month of March is more to promote the field of athletic training to people who don't understand what it is that we do. A lot of people think athletic trainer, they think personal trainer, a strength coach, and while we do have some function in teaching strength and conditioning and techniques, we're also on the field emergency care, injury evaluation, treatment rehabilitation, returning to play concussion management, the list goes on and on."

Alexander, who was hired at her alma mater this past summer after many years at Division I Sacred Heart University, has been proud of helping out the people she has met in her field.

"After 20 plus years, I can tell you that anytime we have an injured athlete, the best day is the day that they return to their field of play," said Alexander.  "That is probably the most exciting thing about what we do, especially if it's an athlete that's been injured, had surgical interventions, has gone through post surgical rehabilitation in our room; returning to play is those days I look forward to. I enjoy every day but those are the days that are special."

As there are upsides, there are downsides for being an athletic trainer. Athletic trainer Tom Holton, who earned a B.S. in Physical Education from Eastern and an M.S.S. in Sports Medicine from the U.S. Sports Academy, noted that he loves his job but dislikes when he lets the student-athlete know the bad news.

"I love doing my job it's just part of the job you hate saying 'you can't play'," said Holton. "I really wish I could come into work every day and not have to do that.. The reality of the fact is that  there's people we have to hold out and tell them 'you're season's over, you got to have surgery' and deal with the emotions of that athlete and how they're going to handle 'my career is over'."

Holton, a staff member since 1999, noted how being able to get the student-athlete to get back in his or her field of play and watching him or her succeed is one of his proudest moments as an athletic trainer.

Eastern director of athletics  Dr. Jeff Konin, another Eastern alum,  has been an athletic trainer and a physical therapist. Konin mentioned how the importance of athletic trainers is not just for the collegiate level, but for all levels of competition.

"The purpose is to bring awareness to the general public, to bring awareness to the public of the importance of athletic trainers and the injury prevention care of the numerous student-athletes that participate in sports in all levels," said Konin. "At the high school level, less than 50 percent of high schools have an athletic trainer, and when every high school has programs but less than half of them have proper ways to care for the kids, that's why an awareness month is there to inform people of what they should be doing to provide appropriate programs. You wouldn't put them out there if you didn't have the fields, you wouldn't put them out there if you didn't have the coaches and you really shouldn't put them out there if you don't have the appropriate medical care for them."

As the spring season is starting to get into full-swing, so are the athletic trainers at Eastern working hard to make sure every student-athlete is evaluated and cleared to play. The month of March will be busy at Eastern with lacrosse, baseball, softball, and track & field. The Eastern athletic trainers will be the unsung heroes in helping our student-athletes,  not only during national NATA month, but every month of the academic year.

"I have the best job in the world," said Alexander. "In this job, you don't sit behind a desk or do the same thing every day . Every day is different , and you get to work with amazing people who you want to see get better when they get injured.. What's better than that?"

Warriors honored with program-best four players; Preston is top rookie
Two freshmen players from young women's team are named All-Rookie

Clockwise from far left: Garrow, Robitaille, Preston, Salzillo

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. --  The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team set program bests when four players - two of them first-teamers - were named to the 2012/13 All-Little East Conference team, as voted upon by the eight conference head coaches.

Senior forward Chris Robitaille (Canton) and junior forward Mike Garrow (Terrvyville) were both selected to the six-player first team, while junior guard Brian Salzillo (North Haven) and freshman guard Trachone Preston (Enfield) were among five second-team picks.

In addition, Preston became the program's fourth Rookie-of-the-Year in seven years, following Edwin Ortiz (2006/07), Courtney Simmons (2007/08) and program scoring leader Nick Nedwick (2008/09).

Eastern's four overall men's selections and two first-teamers led all conference schools in the balloting. It marked the first time in 26 years of conference play that as many as four Eastern players were recognized with the honor. Eastern had two first-team picks last year for the first time in Nedwick and Hamilton Levy.

Picked to finish third in the conference this year after losing four starters from the 2011/12 LEC regular-season and playoff championship squad, Eastern  rode to a second-place finish with a program-high 12 LEC regular-season triumphs against two losses. After losing two starters late in the season to injury, the second-seeded Warriors were eliminated in the LEC semifinals, but third-seeded Eastern rebounded to capture three straight games and hoist its first ECAC New England Division III championship trophy nine days later to post their fourth straight 20-win season (22-8).

A rebuilding Eastern women's team - whose starting lineup usually featured three sophomores and a freshmen - place two freshmen on the five-person All-Rookie Team in guard Brianna Leonard (Amherst, MA) and forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA), give the Warriors seven such selections in seven years.

The 6-foot-5 inch Robitaille led the conference in field goal percentage (.570) for the second straight year and was first in minutes (33.0), third in rebounding (8.4), fourth in scoring (14.6) and tied for ninth in assists (2.3).  He had 12 double-doubles (27th nationally), with five of them coming in the final seven games, and reached the 1,000-point mark in the final game of his career in the ECAC title game. Robitaille was the only Eastern player to receive LEC Player-of-the-Week honors this year, when he shared the honor in the second report of the season on Nov. 26.

Below: Leonard (left) and Ritrosky

The MVP of the ECAC tournament after averaging 19.0 points and 7.3 assists with a .676 field goal percentage, Garrow was fifth in the LEC in scoring (14.6) and field goal percentage (.505) and 12th in rebounding (5.5). In the ECAC title game, he had 25 points and a career-high 14 rebounds and was 10-for-15 from the floor, including 4-for-5 from three-point range. After appearing in only the first five games of last year and earning a medical redshirt, Garrow was the only Eastern player this year to start all 30 games and was second only to Robitaille by averaging 32.7 minutes per game.

Salzillo led a balanced Eastern attack with a 15.0 scoring average - second in the conference -- with 67.3 percent of his points coming from three-point range. He led the conference with an Eastern season-record of 94 three-pointers - 35 more than his nearest LEC competitor - and is rated sixth nationally with 3.36 makes per game. He canned at least one three-pointer in all 28 games in which he appeared, extending his streak to 35 over a two-year span. Salzillo was second on the team in free throw percentage (.849) but did not have enough attempts to qualify in the LEC.

No rookie was recognized more often than Preston, who was named the conference's outstanding rookie three times over the course of the season. Preston, who started the final 24 games of the season, ranked second in the conference among freshmen with a 10.8 scoring average, was second overall in three-point field goal percentage (.459), tied for seventh in assists (2.5) and seventh in free throw percentage (.787). He led all LEC rookies in each of the latter three categories.

Leonard  and Ritrosky ranked 2-4 on the team in minutes played, combining for 44 starts. Leonard was third on the team in scoring (9.7) and third in rebounds and Ritrosky was first in free throw percentage (.742), second in rebounding (7.9) and fourth in scoring (9.5). The pair helped the Warriors to a share of third place in the conference, with their 8-6 LEC mark bettering the 4-10 showing of the previous year. Eastern finished 10-16, winning seven of 11 at one point after a 2-9 start.

Leonard was named both LEC Player and Rookie-of-the-Week Feb. 11 and was also the top rookie on Feb. 4. She scored a season-high 28 points Feb. 5 in a 70-55 conference home win over Western Connecticut Feb. 5 and recorded both of her season's double-doubles against the Colonials.

Ritrosky collected double figures in points in ten of the team's final 11 games, scoring nine in the other game in that stretch. In the season-ending  66-54 LEC tournament home loss to Rhode Island College, she had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Eastern's starters play all but one minute in 65-54 loss to RIC

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - A lack of depth has hindered the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball season all year long.

Tuesday night in the opening round of the 2013 Little East Conference tournament, it crippled the Warriors... and ended their season.

At right: Jill Ritrosky drives to the basket in the first half of Tuesday's season-ending loss in the first round of the Little East tournament. (Photo by Courtney Weber).

Playing without freshman post player Erin Brooks (Billerica, MA) - who injured her thumb in Saturday's regular-season finale against UMass Boston - the fourth-seeded Warriors could not match the deep bench of No. 5 Rhode Island College and ended their season with a 66-54 loss to the defending conference champions at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

While Rhode Island (16-10) got productivity from nine players, Eastern's (10-16) starters played - incredibly - all but one minute of the game as the Warriors could not repeat their two-point upset of the Anchorwomen of  three weeks ago.

Rhode Island's bench produced 30 points, 21 of them coming from senior forward Ashley O'Dell. O'Dell connected on all five of her three-point field goals and seven of eight shots from the floor in all en route to a game-high 21 points in 30 minutes off the bench.

Eastern dug an early hole in the game, and without re-enforcements, was ill-equipped to stage any sort of comeback. The Warriors missed 18 of their first 20 shots and turned the ball over six times in the first 14 minutes of the game and limped into the half on the short end of a 41-25 score.

 Eastern was unable to cut the gap to single figures in the second half, but twice were within a point of doing that in the final three-plus minutes. A driving layup by sophomore guard Taylor McBride (Willimantic) with 3:26 left made it 62-52, but after a steal by freshman forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA), Eastern missed two free throws. Moments later, sophomore forward Shannon McCourt (New Fairfield) drained a jumper to again make it a ten-point game, and the Warriors re-gained possession after an RIC miss, but couldn't convert on two inside chances.

Attempting to score its points inside, the Warriors attempted only one three-pointer in the game and were outscored by 21 points from behind the arc.

Ritrosky (16 points, 13 rebounds) and McCourt (16 points, 14 rebounds, 10-for-12 from the foul line) both had double-doubles for Eastern, with freshman guard Brianna Leonard (Amherst, MA) adding ten points and six rebounds and McBride a season-high ten points with five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

This week's edition of Eastern Athletics Weekly will air Tuesday, Feb. 19 between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. on LittleEast.tv, originating from the Sports Center's Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. Hosts Nick Aconfora, Sean Harrison and Nick Minutelli will preview Tuesday night's Little East Conference women's and men's basketball first-round home games against Rhode Island College and Western Connecticut, respectively. The Eastern women split the regular-season series against Rhode Island College while the men swept the Colonials. Joining the broadcast team will be representatives from the women's and men's coaching staffs. The show will also preview the 2013 Eastern men's lacrosse season, which gets underway Wednesday against Castleton State College at 4 p.m. at Castleton, VT. Joining the broadcast team will be Eastern senior defenseman John DiPietro. The show is archived immediately upon its completion in the "Recent Archives" section of LittleEast.tv.

No. 4 seeded Warriors will host No. 5 seed RIC Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. 

By Jonathan Mizger/Sports Information Staff

Tournament Central

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- The Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team could not come back from a nine-point halftime deficit as the University of Massachusetts Boston held on to the victory and split the Little East Conference season series 59-47 Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium on the final day of the regular season.

In a two-game split with UMass Boston this year, Shannon McCourt (above) had 38 points and 20 rebounds. (Photo by Jennifer Catone).

Six-foot freshman Olivia Murphy, a top candidate for LEC Rookie-of-the-Year honors,  scored 14 points of the bench in 26 minutes as UMass Boston (14-11, 6-8 Little East) won for only the second time in its final six regular-season games. Eastern (10-15), 8-6 Little East) had won three of its last four and five of its last seven entering play.

The outcome of the game did not affect UMass Boston's No. 6 LEC tournament seed nor did it affect Eastern's guarantee of  hosting a first-round LEC tournament game Tuesday. With a win, Eastern could have nailed down the No. 3 seed, but instead will be the No. 4  seed and will host fifth-seeded Rhode Island College at 5:30 p.m. UMass will visit third-seeded Massachusetts Dartmouth Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

The Warriors never led after eight minutes and four seconds left in the first half as they were tied with the Beacons 16-16.

The Warriors had to play comeback kids from being down 29-20 at halftime. Foul trouble, missed opportunities on offensive rebounds, and turnovers sealed the Warriors from getting past the Beacons, who rebounded from an earlier 17-point home loss to Eastern.

Sophomore forward Shannon McCourt (New Fairfield) of the Warriors recorded 18 points, shooting 7-12 from the field, 4-7 from free throws before fouling out with 4:51 left in the game; she had one personal foul in the first half and four personal fouls in the second half.

Freshman forward Brianna Leonard (Amherst, MA) of the Warriors posted ten points with four assists, five rebounds, and seven turnovers.

Up 39-26 with 16:09 left in the game, the Beacons outplayed the Warriors with fast break points off turnovers, rebounding, and their depth.

UMass-Boston had 11 steals and scored 16 points off turnovers. The Beacons are second in steals in the LEC averaging 10.1 per game. The Warriors recorded five steals against the Beacons and are in eighth in steals in the LEC averaging 6.3 per game.

The bench play by the Beacons was unstoppable. UMass-Boston's bench players scored 30 points to Eastern Connecticut State's three points. Murphy shot 6-12 from the field, 2-6 from free throws, and 6 rebounds.

UMass Boston leads the LEC in offensive rebounds,  Eastern ranking sixth. In the game, the Beacons outrebounded the Warriors offensively, 24-14, which led to 18 second chance points by the Beacons over 12 second chance points over the Warriors.

On Senior Day, post player Jaymie Sommers (Voluntown) of the Warriors was inserted with 1:09 left in the game, recording a defensive rebound. Sommers was honored by the team at the end of the game.

UMass-Boston's senior Teresa Pina recorded three points, ten rebounds, two assists and two steals.

From left: Smoragiewicz, Bierly, Geitner

Eastern Athletics Weekly -- Eastern Connecticut State University's weekly student-run sports talk show -- airs live from Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium Wednesday between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. on LittleEast.tv. This week's show, co-hosted by Nick Aconfora and Nick Minutelli, features guest basketball coaches Denise Bierly and Bill Geitner and sophomore swimmer Kayla Smoragiewicz. With the basketball season winding down, Bierly and Geitner will look back at the 2012/13 regular-season and preview Wednesday night's Little East Conference home games against Keene State College, and ahead to the Little East Conference playoffs, which get underway next Tuesday evening. Smoragiewicz will close out the show  reflecting upon her team's second-place finish in the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Championships this past weekend at White River Junction, VT. Upon completion of the live broadcast, the show can be accessed in the "Recent Archives" section on the LittleEast.tv website. Wednesday night's  Keene State women's and men's games kick off at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, on LittleEast.tv, with the pre-game show hosted by Aconfora and starting 15 minutes before the scheduled start of each contest.

They can't distance themselves from Corsairs in LEC in 66-50 loss

At left: Jill Ritrosky

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Six-foot-two inch Erika Bornemann scored 16 of her 19 points in the second half when the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth shot 61.5 percent from the floor in a 66-50 Little East Conference victory over Eastern Connecticut State University Monday night at the Tripp Athletic Center.

With its first conference loss in the last five games, Eastern (9-14, 7-5 Little East) falls into a two-way tie for third place in the conference with UMass (17-6, 7-5 Little East), which has won five of its last six.

Behind Bornemann (6-for-10), UMass Dartmouth shot 61.5 percent from the floor in a 42-point second half - equaling the most points allowed by the Warriors in a half this season - to earn its second straight regular-season split with Eastern after being swept the previous 16 straight seasons.

While both teams struggled from the floor in the first half following a five-day snow-induced layoff, the Corsairs found their bearings in the second half while Eastern never got fully untracked after missing 18 of 25 attempts from the field and turning the ball over12 times in the first 20 minutes.

Now 10-2 at home this season, UMass got a game-high 21 points from LEC scoring leader Colleen Moriarty, who was limited to 12 points when the Warriors handed the Corsairs only their second loss in their first 12 games in a 54-51 overtime victory a month ago at Geissler Gymnasium. While her teammates struggled in the first half, the 6-foot-1 inch Moriarty carried the load by scoring 14 of her squad's 24 points on 7-for-10 marksmanship from the floor.

The Warriors led by six points nine minutes into the game but were limited to only five points the rest of the half and trailed by seven at the break when Bornemann broke through for her first points of the stanza on a three-point field goal inside the final 30 seconds.

Bornemann's inside bucket opened the second half and pushed UMD's  lead to nine and the Warriors were never able to get closer than five the rest of the way. The hosts sank five of their game total of six three-pointers over the final 20 minutes, with Bornemann sticking two of her game total of four from long range and Kelsey Garrity one in the first 3:30 of the second half.

In Eastern's overtime victory over UMass, Bornemann grabbed a team-high ten rebounds but was held to just four points in 35 minutes, missing all four of her three-point tries.

Eastern freshman forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA) enjoyed her second strong game this year against UMass, totaling a team and career-high 20 points (her eight straight double-figure game) and grabbing six rebounds. Ritrosky had her most productive collegiate game to that point earlier against UMass with game-highs of 14 points and 15 rebound and only one turnover in 35 minutes. Sophomore forward Shannon McCourt (New Fairfield) added her first double-double in eight games with ten points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The pair accounted for 30 of the team's 50 points.

Freshman forward Brianna Leonard (Amherst, MA) had eight points and nine rebounds, helping the visitors to a decisive 43-30 advantage on the boards.

Eastern hosts Keene State College Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in a conference game.

Freshman accorded rare honor as both Player and Rookie-of-the-Week

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - On the basis of one game, Eastern Connecticut State University freshman Brianna Leonard (Amherst, MA) has been accorded the rare honor as both the Little East Conference Player and Rookie-of-the-Week for the week ending Feb. 10

In the only game of the week this past Tuesday, Leonard scored the most points (28) by a freshman in a Little East women's basketball game this year in leading the Warriors to a 70-55 victory over visiting Western Connecticut State University.

The win was the fourth straight in conference play for Eastern and ended Western's nine-game overall winning streak. In addition to her game and season-high points total, Leonard also led both teams with ten rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Leonard scored 18 of Eastern's 39 second-half points. In the game, she was 11-for-15 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the foul line in playing the entire 40 minutes.

The weekly tribute follows her selection a week ago as LEC Rookie-of-the-Week. In a 1-1 week, the 5-foot-8 inch Leonard led the Warriors with a 14.5 scoring average and .611 field goal percentage and was second in rebounding (5.5)  and free throw percentage (.700) without a turnover in 60 minutes en route to the first weekly LEC honor of her career.

In her last three games, Leonard is averaging 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds with a .667 (22-for-33) field goal percentage and .722 free throw percentage. She has commited only two turnovers in 100 minutes in those three games.

Among freshmen in the conference, Leonard ranks second in field goal percentage, third in scoring and fourth in rebounding.

Eastern has won four of its last five overall to improve to 9-13 and has captured seven of its last nine conference games since dropping its opening pair.

Now in third place in the conference, Eastern was scheduled to visit Massachusetts Dartmouth Monday night at 5:30 p.m. in a game originally scheduled for this past Saturday.

The Warriors posted a 54-51 overtime win over the Corsairs when the teams met a month ago in Willimantic, handing the visitors only their second loss in their first 12 games.

Colonials have no answer for Leonard or Ritrosky in Warriors' win

Freshmen forwards Brianna Leonard (Amherst, MA) and Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA) combined for 45 points and 19 rebounds as the Eastern Connecticut State University women's basketball team snapped Western Connecticut State University's nine-game winning streak with a 70-55 Little East Conference victory Tuesday evening at Francis E. Geissler Gymasnium.

At right: Brianna Leonard found herself with plenty of room to work under the basket throughout Tuesday's 70-55 LEC win over Western Conn. (Jonathan Mizger photo)

With its fourth straight conference win this year and first victory over Western (16-6, 8-3 Little East) in the last seven meetings, Eastern (9-13, 7-4 Little East) moves within a game of the second-place Colonials and into sole possession of third place in the conference. Although the 5-foot-8 inch Leonard and 5-9  Ritrosky combined for 30 points, Eastern was beaten by 12 points at Western Connecticut three weeks ago.

Last week's LEC Rookie-of-the-Week, Leonard led both teams with a career-high 28 points (11-for-15 from the floor) - the majority of her scoring coming on drives to the basket -- and added a game-high ten rebounds in 40 minutes of work, and Ritrosky finished with 17 points (her seventh straight game in double figures) and nine rebounds. She was 7-for-10 from the foul line.

Sophomore guard Kristina Forsman (Newington) chipped in 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds. She was 6-for-7 from the floor and also had a game-high four assists.

Eastern never trailed in the game, holding the Colonials to nine points through the first 15 minutes and racing to a 14-point, 23-9 lead. The Colonials rallied to cut the gap to eight by the half when  senior guard Nicole Eanniello and junior forward Sciarra Brandt combined for three three-point field goals.

Eastern re-grouped at the half, however,  and Ritrosky and Forsman opened the second half with inside buckets, Forsman sinking a free throw to complete a conventional three-point play and give the Warriors a 13-point, 36-23 lead. Western did not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Eanniello led Western with 17 points, six-foot freshman Sha'Quuira Palmer adding 11 points off the bench and senior guard Jackie Zilnicki ten points.

Eastern outrebounded Western by 16 and forced the Colonials into 31.4 percent shooting from the floor while sinking half of their tries from the field, most coming from close range.

Eastern visits Massachusetts Dartmouth Saturday at 1 p.m.