BRIDGEWATER, Mass.  -Opening night was a tale of two halves for men's basketball as they turned a 22-point halftime deficit into as few as eight points during the second half push. The late run was not enough for the Beacons, as they fell to Bridgewater State University by a final score of 82-70.

THE BASICS
UMass Boston 70, Bridgewater State 82

UMass Boston (0-1)
Bridgewater State (1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 44-22 halftime deficit grew to 28, the Beacons put up 17 unanswered points to cut the Bridgewater lead to 61-50 with 11 minutes to play.

Inside of nine minutes to play, the Beacons took advantage of free throw opportunities. After Emanuel Zayas put in four foul shots within 20 seconds, Malik Lorquet cut the lead to eight with a pair of his own.

Bobby Joy posted four of his team-best 17 points in the span of 34 seconds to keep the Bridgewater lead at eight with just under six minutes to play. It was inside of six minutes, however, that the Bears got hot once again, pushing the lead to 17 with under three minutes to play.

Late buckets from the Beacons were not enough to erase the deficit as Bridgewater managed to hold-on for the single-digit victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Beacons converted 21 of their 29 free throw attempts compared to 10 of 16 for the Bears
• UMB scored 26 points off of 32 caused turnovers
• Lorquet posted a game best six blocks, extending his program record to 171
• All-time the Beacons 21-19 against the Bears
• Tuesday's loss ended a three-game win-streak for the Beacons over their longtime rivals

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons travel to Salve Regina on Tuesday, November 15 for a 7 p.m. matchup.