BOSTON, Mass. – Led by Benjamin Vezele's double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds Rhode Island College slipped past men's basketball as the Anchormen earned an 83-80 win over the Beacons Saturday afternoon in a Little East Conference contest at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 80, Rhode Island College 83

UMass Boston (13-8, 7-5 Little East Conference)
Rhode Island College (15-7, 8-5 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Rhode Island College used an 18-8 run over the final seven minutes of the second half to erase the Beacons once comfortable lead.  UMB did keep the Anchormen close but were never able to regain the lead in the closing minutes of the contest.

Vezele combined for 10 of his 22 points in the second half, while Shion Darby dropped 19 of his 21 points over the final 20 minutes.

Mark Munroe led the Beacons with a career-best double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.  The six-foot-six-inch center grabbed seven offensive boards and was 10-for-15 from the field.  He also had three steals and one blocked shot in 35 minutes of playing time.

After taking an eight point lead into the halftime break, the Beacons were able to hold-off the Anchormen throughout the first ten minutes of the final half.  They even pushed their lead to double-digits on two occasions, but could not maintain their momentum. 

RIC's late offensive surge was kick started by a jumper from Keyshaun Jacobs.  From there Darby, Jacobs, Vezele, and Jonathan Batista all made an impact as they took their first lead of the second half with just under 2:30 to play in regulation.

Charles Mitchell (Boston, Mass.) finished second on the team with 18 points and was a point shy of his 1,000^th.  The junior guard also grabbed nine boards.  Michael Boyd (Malden, Mass.) finished tied for third on the team alongside Dasan Cinelli (Boston, Mass.) as the duo each dropped in 15 points.  Boyd also handed out nine assists and did not come off the floor for the entire game.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston shot 39.5% from the field and 26.1% from behind the arc
• The Beacons held a 45-42 advantage on the glass
• UMB combined for 42 points in the paint and scored 18 second chance points. 
• The Anchormen shot 45.3% from the field
• Jacobs and Tim Deng combined for 36 points and 13 rebounds respectively
• Mitchell now needs just one point for his 1,000^th career point
• All-time RIC leads the series 42-34
• The win for the Anchormen was their first over UMass Boston since January 9, 2016 and was their first win in Boston since January 31, 2015
• The Beacons saw their nine-game win-streak over RIC come to an end with the loss to the Anchormen

WHO'S NEXT

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