KEENE, N.H. – After a strong start by the UMass Boston Men's Basketball team against Keene State College, ranked fifth nationally, a 58-point second half by the Owls turned the tables on the Beacons who fell 92-77 on Saturday afternoon and will enter the Little East Conference Tournament as the fifth seed.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 77, #5 Keene State 92

UMass Boston (15-10, 8-8 LEC)
#5 Keene State (24-1, 16-0 LEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Nine points in the early going from freshman guard Xavier McKenzie would help the Beacons jump out to a commanding eight point lead, 18-10. The UMass Boston lead would stretch to as many as 13 points after a three from sophomore guard Emanuel Zayas with 9:07 remaining in the first half before Keene State began to chip away at the deficit.

With three minutes remaining in the first half, UMass Boston held a 33-24 lead that a barrage of four three pointers from the Owls would help shrink the Beacon lead down to five, 39-34, going into the halftime locker room. As a team, the Beacons shot an impressive 44.8% from the field and 55.5% from long range while Keene State shot 38.8% from the floor and 29.4% from beyond the arc.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Owls jumped all over UMass Boston with a quick 9-0 run that saw them take a four-point lead just over 1:30 into the half as well as their first lead of the game. A three from senior guard Mariano Olivier-Rodriguez with 16:10 left in regulation would give the Beacons their last lead of the contest, 47-46.

Another quick blitz by Keene State in the form of a 13-0 run over the course of a three-minute span saw the Owls take control of the game once and for all, 59-47, with 13:28 left. Sophomore forward Ike Eluwa would trim the Beacon deficit down to 10 with a three pointer before the Keene State lead ballooned up to 24 points in the late stages of the second half.

With 31 seconds remaining in the game, senior forward Malik Lorquet hit a pair of free throws to become the 16^th player in UMass Boston Men's Basketball history to reach the 1,000 point mark while the Beacons fell 92-77 as they get ready to enter the Little East Conference Tournament next week.
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• With a free throw in the final minute, Malik Lorquet became the 16^th player in program history to reach 1,000 points
• Malik Lorquet also finished the game with his 21^st double-double of the season, tying him for the NCAA Division III lead with Emerson's Jarred Houston and Maine Maritime's Curt Heinz after scoring 19 points and grabbing 16 rebounds
• Senior forward Jeff Hunter nearly recorded a triple-double for Keene State, scoring 15 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and tallying nine assists
• Sophomore guard Octavio Brito led the way for Keene State with 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting

 
 
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston enters the Little East Conference Tournament as the fifth seed, which means they will head on the road this Tuesday night against fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University at 6:00 PM. The two teams split their two matchups this year with both sides winning at home. On the road this year, the Beacons fell 81-73, but were most notably missing Xavier McKenzie in the contest.