BOSTON, Mass. – After four decades on the Beacons bench head men's basketball coach Charlie Titus guided UMass Boston to one final home conference win as the Beacons defeated Western Connecticut State University by the final of 95-79 Saturday afternoon in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium on senior day.

With the victory, the Beacons earned the sixth-seed in this year's Little East Conference Tournament.  UMass will travel to intra-state rival UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. first round game.  For Titus' crew they closed out their final regular season with an impressive 14-11 record, 6-8 in the conference.  Western Connecticut State dropped to 14-11 on the year with Saturday's loss, and also finished the regular-season with a 6-8 record.

Carrying the Beacons to the huge conference win was senior Steven McGuire (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), who finished perhaps his most memorable day with a career-high 19 points.  The senior was 8-for-10 from the field, and 3-for-3 at the line.  Fellow senior Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) recorded the Beacons' lone double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.  Gregory Young (Dorchester, Mass.) capped-off his final home game with 15 points, three steals, and two blocked shots. 

The Beacons used a dominant inside game to give Coach Titus his final victory in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.  The founding father of both UMass Boston men's basketball, and UMass Boston athletics, Titus was honored following the conclusion of Saturday's contest by Chancellor J. Keith Motley for his countless contributions to the University and to the sport of men's basketball. 

On the day, the Beacons recorded 50 of their 95 points in the paint.  They also played a strong defensive game, forcing 23 Western Connecticut turnovers.  The Beacons limited the Colonials to just 35% shooting from the field and 32% shooting from 3-point range.  UMass, overcame a sluggish first half, and was red-hot throughout the second as they shot 55.3% (21-38) to cap-off a 47% day from the field (36-76).  They also had one of their best days at the line as they shot 80% overall (20-25).

UMass Boston would control the entire first half, only trailing twice through the first 20 minutes.  The Beacons would take an early seven point lead, with their first real run of the afternoon, which was capped-off by a huge Young dunk.

Claudy Casseus tried to stop the bleeding for WCSU, but his basket just fueled the Beacons fire as they exploded offensively to take a 16 point (24-8) lead with 9:53 left to play in the opening half.  However, WCSU did manage to cut the deficit to single-digits following a 9-2 run, which was started by a 3-pointer from Jimmy Louissaint. 

A Joseph 3-pointer pushed the momentum back in favor of the home team, as they went into the break with a 40-26 lead.  UMass would outscore their conference rivals 14-8 over the final 5:29. 

After the break, the Beacons maintained a substantial lead for the final 20 minutes of play, with Young leading the team with 13 points.  UMass would start the final half off on a great note with a quick 6-2 run to jump out to their largest lead of the afternoon (18 points). 

Western Connecticut did respond with a quick 9-0 run to make it a nine-point affair.  UMass would once again push their lead back to double-figures, and would never look back as they earned the 16-point win (95-79).

Kendall Marquez proved to be the Colonials top shooter as he finished with 17 points on 3-of-11 shoot, which included a pair of 3-pointers.  He did most of his damage at the line, as he finished 9-for-11.  Luis Bridtter grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, to go along with 12 points to earn the Colonials' only double-double.

Prior to the start of the contest, the Beacons honored their five senior members in Joseph, Young, McGuire, Luc Ulysse (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Ivan Cutts, Jr. (Boston, Mass.).

The Beacons will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to UMass Dartmouth for a 7:30 p.m. Little East Conference Tournament game.