DARTMOUTH, Mass. – A season-high 16 3-pointers and a game-high 35 points from Jordan Rezendes pushed UMass Dartmouth past men's basketball in the first round of the 2015 Little East Conference Tournament, as the Corsairs defeated the Beacons 98-82 Tuesday evening in the Tripp Athletic Center.

Tuesday's loss marked the final contest in the career of legendary head coach Charlie Titus, who led his Beacons to their best finish since the 2005-06 season.  With the loss UMass closed out the campaign with a 14-12 record.  The Corsairs improved to 14-12 on the year, and will now face the second-seed Anchormen of Rhode Island College on Friday at Eastern Connecticut State University in the semis of this year's conference tournament.

Rezendes, who was named the Division National Player of the Week earlier this afternoon, and who was fresh-off of his 51 point showing on Saturday, finished 11-for-19 from the field, and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.  At the line the junior guard was a perfect 9-for-9.

In the first half of Tuesday's match-up, the fifth postseason meeting between the two intra-state rivals, UMass Boston came out firing as they looked to upset the third-seed Corsairs.  The Beacons opened play with the first four points of the contest, as Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) drained the first jumper, while Gregory Young (Dorchester, Mass.) put-in a pair of free throws.  The Beacons would close out the night with their best showing at the line by far this season, as they went an impressive 32-for-37, which was seven short of tying the program record of 39 set on February 17, 1986 against Wentworth Institute. 

Tuesday's contest marked the final for longtime Beacons head coach Charlie Titus, who coached the Beacons for over four decades (photo by Gary Robinson, UMass Dartmouth Sports Information)

UMass Dartmouth would then respond with five straight points to take their first lead of the night.  The two teams would battle back-and-forth through the first five minutes of play, but with a 8-0 run, which included a two 3-pointers from John Genkos, the Corsairs took their largest lead of the first half (15-8).

The Beacons would come back to cut the deficit to one, and would eventually regain the lead with 7:22 to play in the first as Luc Ulysse (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit a pair of free throws.  The Beacons would keep their slim lead for about a minute, but with an 18-4 run to close out the half, the Corsairs went into the break leading 43-32.

After the intermission, the Corsairs would hold off an early surge by the Beacons, and pushed their lead back to double-figures.  With the team's third 3-pointer in the first eight minutes, the Corsairs extended their lead to 11, and never looked back from that point. 

In just the second half alone, the Corsairs were 10-for-15 from behind the arc, and were 15-for-34 from the field.  The 16 3-pointers tied the program record, which was set in 1993 against Salem State College.  UMass closed out the half shooting 53.8% (14-26) from the floor, but it was not enough to overcome the Corsairs long range display. 

Young led the Beacons with 16 of his team-best 21 points.  Omar Benabicha (Saugus, Mass.) finished the night with 14 points, while Ulysse and Joseph each dropped in 12 points a-piece.  The Beacons held a 44-38 advantage on the glass.

Tuesday's contest marked the final in the careers of Joseph, Ulysse, Young, Steven McGuire (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), and Ivan Cutts, Jr. (Boston, Mass.).