PROVIDENCE, R.I.—UMass Boston men's basketball held an opponent under 50 points for the first time in 97 games, to snap their six-game losing streak with a huge road win over host Rhode Island College.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 52, Rhode Island College 46

(UMass Boston 11-10, Little East 4-6)

(Rhode Island College 9-11, Little East 3-7) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

In easily their lowest scoring game of the season, UMass Boston held the Anchormen to just 46 points in a crucial Little East Conference win. The 46 points marks the Beacons fewest points allowed since the 2012-13 season. The Beacons held the University of New England to 30 points in a 72-30 win over November 23, 2012. 

Senior center Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass.) provided a game-high 21 points on 10-of-22 shooting and tacked on eight rebounds before fouling out. Fellow senior Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) added a game-high 20 rebounds, to go along with six points and three steals.

Careem Kirksey (Dorchester, Mass.), another senior, added nine points and 11 rebounds to help the Beacons snap their season-high, six-game losing streak.

Rhode Island College forward Benjamin Vezele led the way for RIC, recording a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Senior forward Domonique Bull added 13 points and six boards.

The two teams battled back and forth during the opening stages with the score tied 6-6 with 15:06 left in the first half. UMass Boston then used a 16-6 run, capped by a jumper from Freeman, to take its largest lead of the first half, 22-12, with 1:07 remaining in the stanza. The Beacons took a 22-15 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. RIC shot just 15.6 percent (5-of-32) from the field in the first half with UMass Boston holding a 28-23 advantage in rebounding.

RIC climbed back to within one point early in the second half when a three-pointer by freshman guard Jonatan Batista made the score 26-25 with 17:08 left in the contest. The Beacons then used a 15-6 run, capped by a jumper from junior guard Iser Barnes (Boston, Mass.), to make the score 41-31 with 8:35 remaining. RIC closed the gap to just four points several times down the stretch, but couldn't get any closer as UMass Boston held on for the victory.  

BY THE NUMBERS

• With the win, UMass Boston and second-year head coach Jason Harris earned the regular-season sweep of Harris' alma mater. It marks the Beacons' first sweep of the Anchormen since the 01-02 season.
• Powers has posted two 20 rebounds games in the past six games for the Beacons. The 20 rebounds are his career high.
• UMass Boston held the Anchormen to just 16 made field goals (16-of-67, 23.9 percent) and a 3-of-27 mark (11.1 percent) from distance. The Beacons shot 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field and just 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) from deep.  
• The Beacons earned a huge 59-40 edge on the glass.
• Rhode Island College did not lead at any point in the game.
• With the win, UMass Boston moved into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Little East Conference with their 4-6 conference mark.

WHO'S NEXT

UMass Boston will look to avenge a January loss to the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.