WILLIMANTIC, Conn.  – After trailing by 16 points at halftime and in a game where sophomore forward Ike Eluwa scored a career-high 21 points, a UMass Boston Men's Basketball second-half rally fell just short in the closing minutes on the road against Eastern Connecticut State University as the Beacons fell 81-73 on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 73, Eastern Connecticut State University 81

UMass Boston (13-5, 6-3 LEC)

Eastern Connecticut (7-11, 4-5 LEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

UMass Boston would trail early on, 12-5, as the Warrior offense quickly attacked the paint to gain the early advantage. The Beacons responded with a 7-2 run courtesy of points from senior guard Tommy Burris, Eluwa, and sophomore guard Emanuel Zayas. But a responding 8-0 run from Eastern Connecticut helped them regain control of the contest by 10 points with just under seven minutes to go in the first half.

The Beacons would cut their deficit down to six, 23-17, after a three from Eluwa, before a barrage of threes from the Warrior offense helped balloon their lead to 19 points with 1:30 remaining. An ensuing 5-0 run from Eluwa alone helped UMass Boston trail by just 14, before senior guard Tyreice Woods reupped the Eastern Connecticut lead back to 16 points, 39-23, before the first half buzzer sounded.

Senior forward Malik Lorquet scored four points to lead off the second half as part of a 7-0 run for the Beacons that helped get them back within nine points. But another massive run for the Warriors to the tune of 12 consecutive points turned the momentum back in favor of the home team who now led by 19 points again with 14:47 left in regulation.

Eastern Connecticut would hold steady for a majority of the final 20 minutes, still leading by 15 points with 5:04 left. However, the scrappy Beacons who were without freshman guard Xavier McKenzie due to injury, would not go down without a fight. Over the next minute, UMass Boston cut their deficit back to single digits at eight points and in playing the foul game were able to pull within four points, 73-69, with 1:09 on the clock.

The dagger would come from Woods just 21 seconds later as his corner three helped extend the Warrior lead back to seven, foiling the UMass Boston comeback that fell just short with an 81-73 defeat.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Playing 30 minutes off the bench, Ike Eluwa recorded 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting
• Sophomore guard Bobby Joy followed up his career game at Southern Maine with another strong start, playing 39 minutes and scoring 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting
• As a team, UMass Boston shot 10-of-24 from beyond the arc (41.7%) and 28-of-68 for the game (41.2%)
• Four Beacon players finished in double-digits in the contest

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston returns to the Clark Athletic Center for a Little East Conference rematch against WestConn on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM. Back in December, the Beacons fell to the Wolves, 82-66, on the road for the first LEC loss prior to rattling off an eight-game winning streak.