Owls Fall to Warriors in Rick Martin / Hampton Inn Championship Game
Eastern Connecticut juniors’ Dominick Dao (Terryville, Conn.) and Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford, Conn.) combined for 53 points to lead the Warriors to an 80-66 victory over Westfield State in the 2024 Rick Martin / Hampton Inn Championship game from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Eastern Conn. St.
2-0
|
42 | 38 | 80 |
|
Westfield St.
1-1
|
26 | 40 | 66 |
Team Stats
Eastern Conn. St.
| Game Statistics | Eastern Conn. St. | Westfield St. |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (30-60) | (21-69) |
| Field Goal % | 50.0% | 30.4% |
| Rebounds | 43 | 38 |
| Assists | 22 | 13 |
| Turnovers | 22 | 12 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 8 | 23 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 9 | 15 |
| Pts in the Paint | 44 | 22 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 12 | 4 |
| Bench Pts | 9 | 22 |
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Eastern Connecticut juniors' Dominick Dao (Terryville, Conn.) and Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford, Conn.) combined for 53 points to lead the Warriors to an 80-66 victory over Westfield State in the 2024 Rick Martin / Hampton Inn Championship game from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.
Dao poured in 26 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists as he was named the 2024 Rick Martin / Hampton Inn Tournament MVP. He also had a game-high 19 points in the Warriors 89-65 win over St. John Fisher on Friday.
Hamblin got the Warriors out to a 16-point first half lead after notching 20 points on 9-15 shooting in the opening 20 minutes of action.
Senior guard Angel Price-Espada led the Owls with 20 points. Sophomore Xavier Lewis (Long Island, N.Y.) followed with nine points and four assists while Kenney Rogers (Springfield, Mass.) added nine points off the bench.
With the Owls trailing by 16 entering the second half, Westfield shaved the deficit to single digits, starting the half on a 10-3 run with a layup from A.Z. Allah (Springfield, Mass.) making it a 45-36 Warriors advantage with 15:58 left in the game.
Dao stretched the Eastern lead back into double figures after netting a triple, then with the Owls down 11 points, Dao drilled another three, then scooped home a layup to extend the Warriors lead back up to 16 points.
With less than eight minutes to play in the game, Kobe Parker converted a layup to put the game at 63-50 in favor of Eastern. However, Dao delivered another critical triple on the ensuing possession to drive the lead back to 16. Dao had a highly efficient second half, scoring 22 points on 8-11 shooting, including five second-half triples.
The Owls would come as close as 12 points for the remainder of the contest.
Eastern Connecticut shot an efficient 30-60 (50%) from the floor compared to just 30.4% shooting from the Owls. The Warriors held a 44-22 points in the paint advantage along with a 12-4 edge in fast break points.
The Owls will remain home for their next game as the Owls host SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. Eastern Connecticut State will travel to Johnson & Wales for their next game on Sunday at 1:00 P.M.