BOSTON, Mass. – Senior forward Malik Lorquet continued his dominance to start the 2022-23 campaign for UMass Boston Men's Basketball, scoring 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double in 10 games, as the Beacons took down Salem State University at home, 87-78 on Tuesday night for their sixth win in their last seven games.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 87, Salem State 78

UMass Boston (7-3)

Salem State (3-10)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

Neither team would let the other take control of the contest during the first half as senior guard Jaden Castillo kicked off the first half for Salem State with a three-pointer, putting them up 3-0, their largest lead of the entire half. A battle of the bigs would ensue as Lorquet was responsible for six of the first 10 UMass Boston points while grabbing three rebounds, giving them their largest lead of the half at five points, 10-5.

After taking that five-point edge, the Beacons would go up by no more than four points in the rest of the opening 20 minutes as both teams would continuously exchange baskets. After last leading 5-4, the Vikings eventually went ahead 24-22 before UMass Boston regained the lead, 27-24, with five consecutive points from senior guard Tommy Burris and sophomore guard Emanuel Zayas.

Despite a four-point lead at halftime, 40-36, there were seven lead changes and five ties in the first half while Salem State held an 18-16 edge in rebounds. The towering six-foot, eight-inch senior forward Conner Byrne scored a team-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting for the Vikings while Lorquet led the way for UMass Boston with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six rebounds.

A Burris jumper to start the second half gave the Beacons their largest lead up that point of the game at six points, but once again the two teams would exchange punches back-and-forth. The Byrne brothers consisting of Connor and senior forward Jarret Byrne would account for four consecutive Viking points to bring them within two. UMass Boston would re-up their lead to six again, 52-46, before another Salem State run led by Connor Byrne and Castillo brought them back to within one, 52-51, with 10:59 remaining in regulation.

The sharpshooting that the Beacons flashed in their last game against Eastern Nazarene came to life down the stretch in critical moments. During a two-minute stretch, Zayas would account for eight of the 15 points for UMass Boston that help them take control by eight points, 67-59, with 7:33 left in regulation.

Salem State would trim the deficit down to four after Connor Byrne hit one of his two free throws, 69-65, but UMass Boston would be able to close out the game outscoring the Vikings 18-13 in the final 5:08 of the game to propel themselves to an 87-78 victory at home for their third consecutive win.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston shot 50% from the floor (32-for-64) for the second consecutive game while shooting 40% from three-point range (6-for-15)
• Emanuel Zayas scored 25 points on 7-for-11 shooting, he has shot over 50% in five consecutive games
• Four UMass Boston players finished in double digits with Lorquet and Zayas scoring 25 points each while freshman guard Xavier McKenzie scored 14 points and senior guard Tommy Burris recorded 13 points in the game
• Connor Byrne led the way for Salem State with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds, brother Jarret Byrne scored 13 points with 12 rebounds

 
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will play its second of three games this week on Thursday night at 7:00 PM against Westfield State University at home inside the Clark Athletic Center. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since December 10^th, 1998, in which the Beacons won 91-60 on the road. UMass Boston is 8-4 all-time against the Owls and currently hold a three-game winning streak in the head-to-head matchup.