BOSTON, Mass. - In a tightly-contested matchup with the second-ranked team in the Little East Conference, UMass Boston Men's Basketball led by as many as five points in the second half but could not hold off the WestConn comeback, eventually falling by a final score of 79-75 at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
 
THE BASICS
 
UMass Boston 75, WestConn 79
 
UMass Boston (13-6, 6-4 LEC)
WestConn (16-1, 8-1 LEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The first six UMass Boston points of the game came from the hand of leading scorer senior forward Malik Lorquet. Senior guard Mariano Olivier-Rodriguez and freshman forward Connor Walden would each add a three-pointer to extend the Beacons' early lead to 12-6. The three of them combined for all but two of the team's first half points.
 
In the second half, the Beacons had the green light to shoot, knocking down five three-pointers in the opening five minutes but still trailed WestConn 38-37. 
 
Trailing 46-43 with under 12 minutes to play, the Beacons once again turned to three-point shooting. Sophomore guard Emanuel Zayas and junior guard Bobby Joy each knocked down a long ball to swing a three-point deficit to a three-point lead. Joy finished the game with 13 points, continuing a streak of three straight games scoring in double digits.
 
Down the stretch, the Beacons benefited from free throw opportunities, jumping out to a five-point lead with under five minutes to play courtesy of a 7-0 run consisting purely of free throws from Lorquet and Walden. 
 
Walden, who played more minutes on Wednesday night than he did in every game prior, had a career game on offense, scoring 17 points to go with his six rebounds. He also hit all seven of his free throws.
 
Inside the final minute, the Beacons would not let the Wolves run away with the game. Zayas knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 73-70. After a WestConn bucket, Joy hit a mid-range jumper to cut it to 74-72. 
 
Trailing by six with eight seconds left to play, freshman guard Carson Meczywor made a deep three to cut the lead to three. The Beacons would not get another shot off, however, as WestConn went on to close the game by a final score of 79-75. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Lorquet's 15th double-double moves him into a tie with Illinois Tech's Milos Dugalic for the second most in NCAA DIII this season
• Malik Lorquet now has 761 career rebounds, moving to third all-time and 27 rebounds away from tying the record set by Terry Kennedy
• The Beacons' 12 three-pointers were their most in a game this season
• The lead changed hands 15 times including 10 in the second half and was tied nine times

 
WHO'S NEXT
 
The Beacons will take a week off before they travel to face UMass Dartmouth to kick off the month of February, during which they will play six Little East Conference opponents in 18 days. The game will tip-off at 7:00 on Wednesday, February 1. In their matchup at the Clark Athletic Center earlier in January, UMass Boston beat the Corsairs by a final score of 57-47.