BOSTON, Mass. – An inconsistent first half of offense ultimately doomed the Beacons as the visiting Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State University handed men's basketball a 80-54 Little East Conference loss Saturday afternoon at Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 54, Eastern Connecticut State University 80

UMass Boston (7-6, 1-2 Little East Conference)
Eastern Connecticut State U. (11-2, 3-0 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Through the first 20 minutes of play, the Beacons shot a season-low 16.1% from the field and 22.2% from behind the arc.  For the Warriors they used an impressive 53.3% (8-15) showing from 3-point range to take a commanding 38-18 lead into the halftime break.

Senior forward Tarchee Brown cemented his place as the greatest scorer in ECSU history as he became the program's all-time leading scorer 10 minutes into the opening half.  The Warriors go-to scorer for the last four seasons, ended the afternoon with an impressive 18 points and 16 rebounds.  He also had seven assists, one block and two steals in a team-leading 34 minutes of playing time.

The Beacons saw Charles and Charlie Mitchell (Boston, Mass.) both finish in double-figures with Charles scoring a team-high 14 points.  Charlie came-off the bench to finished with 12 points.  On the glass, senior Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) had another strong game as he collected a team-best 13 boards.

UMass tried to erase the huge deficit in the second-half as they found some rhythm on both sides of the hardwood.  The Beacons shot 34.6% (9-26) from the field, but could not overcome a 48.4% (15-31) showing by the Warriors. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• With the loss, the Warriors extend their win-streak over the Beacons to 20 consecutive games
• The Warriors held a 46-42 advantage on the glass, but it was the Beacons who led the contest in offensive rebounds with 13
• Both teams registered two blocked shots, with the Beacons also coming up with seven steals
• Despite the loss, the Beacons did make a season-high 21 free throws
• 32 of UMB's 54 points were scored by their bench as they featured 10 different players outside of their starting five

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will travel to Bridgewater State University on Monday for a 7:30 p.m. non-conference game.