KEENE, N.H. – In their first game since December 18, 2021 men's basketball returned to Little East Conference play Saturday afternoon at Keene State College. The host Owls used a late second half push to hand the Beacons a 85-71 loss at Spaulding Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 71, Keene State College 85

UMass Boston (5-7, 1-3 Little East Conference)
Keene State College (9-2, 4-0 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Octavio Brito led all scorers with 28 points, as he went 10-for-14 from the field, with three 3-pointers. Jeff Hunter was one of two Owls to record a double-double as he grabbed 13 rebounds to go along with 26 points. Nate Siow also walked away with a double-double as he tallied 10 points and 10 assists.

Stephen DiGregorio (Marlborough, Mass.) led the Beacons in their 2022 debut with 25 points and nine rebounds, while also adding five assists, three blocked shots and one steal. Charlie and Charles Mitchell (Boston, Mass.) combined for 23 points respectively.

UMass Boston got Saturday's contest off to a great start as they jumped all over the Owls. The Beacons held a double-digit lead by the 12 minute marked with DiGregorio leading UMB's offense. Keene State rallied in the final 10 minutes, and went into the halftime break with a nine point lead, as they outscored the Beacons 30-9.

In the second half, the Beacons cut Keene's lead to one twice, but were never able to retake the lead. The Owls never really got away from the Beacons until the final four minutes of regulation, when they jumped out to a comfortable double-digit lead to close out the contest.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston had a total of four games either postponed or cancelled following their December 18 game at Rhode Island College
• All-time Keene State is 45-14 against the Beacons
• The win over UMass Boston was Keene's first since December 7, 2019
• The Beacons shot 43.5% from the field and 21.7% from behind the arc
• Keene held a 44-32 advantage on the glass
• The Beacons bench combined for 17 points, while UMB scored 34 of their 71 points in the paint

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will host the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.