WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – For the second consecutive season, UMass Boston Men's Basketball saw their season come to a close in the Little East Conference Quarterfinals at the hands of Eastern Connecticut State University as a late 7-1 run to close out regulation for the four-seeded Warriors downed the Beacons, 72-68, inside the Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 58, Eastern Connecticut 62
UMass Boston (15-11)
Eastern Connecticut (14-12)
HOW IT HAPPENED
An aggressive first half for both sides saw a combined 11 lead changes and four ties with senior forwards
Malik Lorquet and
Tommy Burris spearheading the charge. Lorquet recorded eight points on 3-for-5 shooting through his opening 11 minutes of action along with six rebounds and two blocks. Burris was equally as impressive in his first 10 minutes with six points on 2-of-3 shooting to help lead the way to a five-point UMass Boston lead, 25-20, with 6:53 remaining in the first half.
After a three from senior guard Hunter Baillargeon trimmed UMass Boston's lead down to two, 27-25, sophomore guard
Emanuel Zayas and freshman guard
Xavier McKenzie combined for the final six Beacon points matching a pair of baskets from Eastern Connecticut to go into the halftime break up by four, 33-29.
After an exchanging of baskets from both sides brought the UMass Boston lead down to two points, the Beacons began firing on all cylinders starting with a pair of threes from sophomore forward
Ike Eluwa and junior guard
Bobby Joy to give UMass Boston their largest lead of the game at eight, 41-33. Another three from McKenzie and two free throws from the freshman gave the Beacons a double-digit advantage, 46-35, which would stretch to as many as 12 points after a Lorquet jumper with 13:37 left in regulation.
Leading by 12 with 12 minutes remaining in regulation, the Warriors would respond with a 10-0 run which was led by four points from senior forward Rakesh Tibby to cut the Beacon lead down to just two points, 50-48, with 6:56 left. A quick 4-0 blitz for UMass Boston helped them regain a six-point advantage just over a minute later, but once against Eastern Connecticut would take back the momentum with a 5-0 run with a floater from senior guard Jalen Williams and three from Baillargeon.
Still maintaining a slim lead a pair of Lorquet free throws made it a 58-55 ballgame before a 4-0 run from Williams gave Eastern Connecticut their first lead since 14-12 in the first half, 59-58, with 58.5 seconds left in regulation. After a missed corner three from Zayas, freshman guard Dominick Dao missed the first free throw of a one-and-one before Lorquet corralled the rebound with 34.5 seconds left and the Beacons called timeout.
With 25 seconds remaining, senior forward Quinton Lott held Lorquet down low, sending him to the line for a one-and-one. After missing the free throw, Lorquet gathered his own rebound and after a follow-up shot from Joy from three was no good, the Beacons were forced to foul. After senior guard Tyriece Woods missed the second shot of a one-and-one, UMass Boston would charge the other way down two and a turnover from Zayas with three seconds left gave Eastern Connecticut the ball back.
A pair of Woods free throws would ice the game for the Warriors, who finished the game on a 7-1 run to come away with the 62-58 victory over UMass Boston, ending their season in the Little East Conference Quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Malik Lorquet recorded his NCAA Division III leading 22nd double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 17 rebounds
- Xavier McKenzie finished the game with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting
- Jalen Williams led the way for Eastern Connecticut with 14 points and seven rebounds
- Turnovers came at a premium for both teams as UMass Boston committed 12 to Eastern Connecticut's 11 turnovers
