Box Score DANBURY, Conn. – A 27-18 run over the final nine minutes eighteen seconds of the first half lifted the top-seeded Western Connecticut State University Colonials to an 88-73 Little East Conference Tournament Semi-Final win over fourth-seeded men's basketball Thursday evening at Feldman Arena.
THE BASICS
#4 UMass Boston 73, #1Western Connecticut State University 88
UMass Boston (16-11)
Western Connecticut State (19-7)
HOW IT HAPPENED
With the loss the Beacons 2019-20 season came to an end after advancing to their third semi-final game in the last four seasons. For the Colonials, they will now host the conference championship on Saturday in the Feldman Arena, with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Michael Boyd (Malden, Mass.) led all scorers with a career-high 31 points. The junior guard was 13-for-21 from the field and 5-for-6 at the line. Charles Mitchell (Boston, Mass.) and Dasan Cinelli (Boston, Mass.) each added 13 points, while the duo combined for 14 rebounds respectively.
Senior Mark Munroe finished with 12 points and seven boards in his final collegiate game alongside Cinelli.
The two teams went back-and-forth through the first 10 minutes of Thursday's semi-final, but the huge run by WCSU gave them a 45-28 advantage heading into the halftime break.
The Beacons tried as hard as they could to close the gap on the scoreboard, but the host Colonials managed to keep their distance.
Fenton Bradley led WCSU with 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
BY THE NUMBERS
- WCSU led from the with 47.6% shooting, while the Beacons finished shooting 43.3%
- Cinelli was appearing in his 104th career game as a Beacon, which moved him into a tie for second all-time in career games played with Tim Bryne and Tharri Turner
- Boyd ended the season with a career-high 183 assists which is second most in a single season
- All-time UMass Boston is now 17-43 against WCSU
