BOSTON, Mass. – Five players finished in double-figures as men's basketball completed a second half comeback to earn a 74-64 Little East Conference win over Keene State College Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 74, Keene State College 64

UMass Boston (12-6, 6-3 Little East Conference)
Keene State College (5-12, 4-5 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Michael Boyd (Malden, Mass.) dropped in 14 of his 18 points in the second half alone, as the junior guard also dished out seven of his career-best 14 assists.  Trailing by as much as eight points with just over six minutes to play in the second half, the Beacons erased that deficit with an 18-2 run to take a 68-60 lead with one minute 25 seconds left to play.

Keene State tried to bounce back, but could not close the newly formed gap by UMB, as the Beacons sealed the victory at the free throw line with Boyd and Dasan Cinelli (Boston, Mass.) combining for the final six points respectively.

Boyd's huge day consisted of a 6-for-8 showing from the field, 6-for-8 at the line.  He finished one assist short of tying the single game program record. 

Cinelli also posted a double-double as the senior finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  He also led the contest in blocked shots with three.  Big-man Mark Munroe (Quincy, Mass.) played one of his best games of the season as he dropped in a career-high 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting. 

Mariano Rodriguez (Burlington, Mass.) and Charles Mitchell (Boston, Mass.) completed the Beacons double-digit scorers as the duo each finished with 11 points. 

James Anozie led Keene State with 16 points, finishing an impressive 10-for-10 at the line.  Devon Beasley accounted for 10 of the Owls' 29 bench points. 

The opening 20 minutes of Saturday's crucial conference game, was a tight affair with the host Beacons maintaining a slim led.  Their largest, a seven point advantage, came around the midway point following a quick 6-0 run. 

Keene would regain the momentum in the final five minutes, but with a three-pointer by Tommy Burris UMass Boston would head into the halftime break with a one point lead. 

The second half was a high flying, high intensity half with neither team backing down.  Keene State's big-run came with less than 10 to play.  After topping off at an eight point advantage four separate times, the Owls thought the conference win was within their grasp.

However, Boyd had other ideas as he powered the Beacons to the huge run, which was capped-off by a pair of made free throws by Rodriguez.  His two free throws gave the Beacons their last lead of the contest, as UMB continued to take advantage of missed opportunities by Keene.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Saturday's win marked the Beacons first over Keene State since February 12, 2015
• UMB is now 14-44 all-time against the Owls and ended a nine-game losing streak to Keene State
• With his 11 points, Mitchell now sits just 53 points away from his 1,000^th
• Boyd's double-double was the second of the year for the junior; His last double-double consisted of 13 assists and 10 points in the January 7 win over Western Connecticut State
• The Beacons finished shooting 45.5% from the field (25-55) and 31.3% from 3-point range (5-16)
• Keene State held a 41-40 advantage in rebounds
• In total there were 10 lead changes and the score was tied five times

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will travel to Southern Maine on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. conference game