BOSTON, Mass.  –  Sophomore guard Emanuel Zayas and freshman Xavier McKenzie scored 17 points each as UMass Boston Men's Basketball took their Little East Conference opener at home against Eastern Connecticut State University, 67-58, on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 67, Eastern Connecticut 58

UMass Boston (4-2, 1-0 LEC)

Eastern Connecticut (2-6, 0-1 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Zayas scored six of the first eight points for the Beacons who went ahead 8-5 with 15:53 left in the first half on the Zayas three and never looked back. The three from the sophomore kicked off a 9-0 run for UMass Boston that saw four different players record points as the Beacons jumped ahead by nine, 14-5. A jumper from McKenzie with 12:50 left in the first half gave UMass Boston their first double-digit lead of the afternoon, 18-7.

The largest lead of the first half for the Beacons would swell to 14 points after a layup from senior guard Mariano Olivier-Rodriguez with 10:27 left in the first half as UMass Boston headed into the halftime locker room with a 12-point advantage, 35-23, after a layup by senior Malik Lorquet with 41 seconds remaining.

The Beacons would go ahead by as many as 17 points in the second half with 11:42 left as notably absent from the Eastern Connecticut lineup was senior guard Jalen Williams, the team's leading scorer coming into the game. Williams exited with a lower leg injury with 5:54 left in the first half and would not return to the game.

Eastern Connecticut would trim their deficit down to seven points with 2:18 left in regulation, utilizing a 17-7 run over the course of nine minutes. Resorting to the foul game, the Warriors would send McKenzie to the line for five free throws down the stretch and the freshman would nail four of those to secure the first win of the season for the Beacons in LEC play, 67-58.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Emanuel Zayas led the way for the Beacons, scoring 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and securing seven rebounds on the afternoon
• Xavier McKenzie recorded double-digit points for fifth consecutive game, scoring 17 points on 5-of-18 shooting and going 6-for-7 from the free throw line
• Malik Lorquet fell just short of his fifth consecutive double-double, scoring 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and snagging eight rebounds in the contest
• UMass Boston has won four of their last six matchups with Eastern Connecticut after losing their previous 23 games against them

 
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will hit the road for two games, starting with a Little East Conference matchup against WestConn slated for Tuesday night at 7:00 PM. The two teams split the home-and-home series last season with both teams winning their respective home games.