DANBURY, Conn.—Freshman Alex Sanchez (Salem, Mass.) scored four points in the final 11 seconds to help UMass Boston escape with a 93-90 win over Western Connecticut State University, in both team's Little East Conference openers.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 93, Western Connecticut State University 90

(UMass Boston 4-2, Little East 1-0)

(Western Connecticut State University 5-2, Little East 0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After leading by as many 20 in the first half, the Beacons found themselves trailing 90-89 with 26 seconds left. Senior Careem Kirskey (Dorchester, Mass.) grabbed a missed Colonials free throw and got the ball into Sanchez' hands. The freshman drove to the hoop and hit a scoop layup, before knocking down two clutch free throws on the following possession. 

Even then Western Connecticut State had one final chance, but Aaron Samuel's heave from half court heave went in and out to secure the Beacons victory.

Sanchez poured in 16 points in 33 minutes and added a team-high four assists, to go along with three rebounds and two steals.

Senior Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass.) carried the scoring load, as the big man finished with a career-high 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe. He also tacked on a game-high eight rebounds in the victory. 

Seniors Iser Barnes (Boston, Mass.) and Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) were the final two Beacons in double-digits, with the two finishing with 18 and 16 points respectively.

Bobby Bynum led four Colonials in double-digits with a team-high 24 points. Kevin Love tacked on 19 points off the bench, while Jauch Green and Tre'Von Perry chipped in with 18 and 14 points. 

It was all UMass Boston in the opening half, as they raced out to a 45-25 lead with 4:16 to play in the half. The Colonials used a 14-6 run before the break to cut the deficit to 51-39 at halftime.

UMass Boston tried to keep the Colonials at arms length in the second half, but Western Connecticut State tied the game with 8:58 to play, and took their first lead since the opening minutes at 74-72 with 8:08 left. 

From there it was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than two possessions. After UMass Boston wrestled the lead back and pushed it to 80-74, Western Connecticut State used a 7-0 run to grab their largest lead of the half at 90-87 with 44 seconds left. 

Barnes hit two free throws with 31 seconds left to cut the game to 90-89 and then he fouled Elias Rodriguez, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

On the following possession, Sanchez took the ball all the way to the basket and converted for a 91-90 lead. Bynum tried to answer but his layup was too strong and the rebound bounced out of bounds off Western.

After Sanchez hit both free throws, Samuel's desperation heave was no good, helping the Beacons escape Feldman Arena with a three-point win.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston shot a season-high 55.2 percent from the field (32-of-58). They also knocked down 5-of-11 three-pointers (45.5 percent) and hit 72.7 of their free throws (24-of-33).
• The Beacons earned a 41-30 edge in rebounds and converted their 12 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.
• UMass Boston earned their first win in Danbury since 2007, snapping a nine-game losing streak at Feldman Arena. The Colonials lead the all-time series 37-15.
• Freeman is the first Beacon to reach the 30-point mark, since Carl Joseph ('15) finished with 33 points in a 107-97 loss to Keene State College in the Beacons' 2014-15 LEC opener.

WHO'S NEXT 

UMass Boston will travel to take on #3 Tufts University on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.