BOSTON, Mass. – With a 14-8 run over the final three minutes, six seconds, the Colonials of Western Connecticut State University were able to sneak past men's basketball as they handed the Beacons an 83-77 Little East Conference loss Saturday afternoon in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 77, Western Connecticut State University 83

UMass Boston (3-4, 0-1 Little East Conference)
Western Conn. State U. (6-1, 1-0 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Even at 69-all with just over three minutes to play in the second half, the Colonials would go on a 7-0 run to make 74-69 with 49 seconds left on the clock.  Iser Barnes (Boston, Mass.) would cut the deficit to five as he went 2-for-2 at the line. 

WCSU would then see Tracy Rumley and Phil Starks both go 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to push their lead to nine, now with 31 ticks left in the contest.  With the game quickly slipping away the Beacons hit a huge 3-pointer to once again make it a two possession game.  However with a free throw by Rumley, and despite another three by the Beacons Maurice Magras (Medford, Mass.), UMass Boston just ran out of time, as the Colonials leading scorer Luis Bridtter sealed the victory with a dunk in the closing seconds.

Bridtter posted a game-high 23 points in the conference win, as he went 10-for-13 from the field and 3-for-4 at the line.  He would also grab 13 boards and had three blocked shots. 

For the Beacons Magras, hit a new career-best as the sophomore guard dropped in 23 points of his own on 9-of-14 shooting, 4-for-4 at the line.  Off the bench Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) finished with a career-best double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds.  The junior went 6-for-15 from the field, which included a pair of 3-pointers.  Five of his 14 boards came on the offensive side of the floor.

The Beacons who were red-hot in the first half, especially from distance, but could not keep the momentum going in the second, as they managed to shoot just 33.3% from the field.  For the Colonials they managed to play one of their most consistent games of the year as they shot 50% in both halves, but struggled from behind the arc. 

UMass held a +1 advantage on the glass (38-37), and matched-up well against the Colonials big-men especially in the paint.  WCSU finished with 42 points, while the Beacons earned a hard fought 32 points under the basket in Saturday's conference loss.

In the first half, the Beacons had to dig themselves out of an early hole, but managed to go basket for basket with the Colonials down the stretch as they went into the halftime break tied at 38-38.  Magras posted 12 points, while Barnes finished with 10 through the first 20 minutes of play.  Jauch Green led the Colonials with 13 first half points, while Bridtter grabbed eight boards and finished with 10 points.

BY THE NUMBERS

• All-time the Colonials now lead the Beacons 36-14
• Saturday's conference game marked the first for head coach Jason Harris, who played for LEC member Rhode Island College, and coached at Plymouth State University before going to Division I Long Island University.
• In total the score was tied 14 times, and there was 13 lead changes
• Magras, who posted just 16 points in his first three games as a Beacons has now finished in double-figures in the last four contests, including today's career-high 23 points.

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will travel to Emerson College on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. non-conference game.