BOSTON, Mass. - Beaconville faithful saw the long-awaited end of a drought at the Clark Athletic Center on Thursday night as the UMass Boston Men's Basketball team won their first game since December 2, taking down Little East Conference foe Plymouth State University by a final score of 66-64.

THE BASICS
UMass Boston 66, Plymouth State 64

UMass Boston (3-13, 2-5 LEC)
Plymouth State (5-10, 1-5 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Erik Donaldson got the Beacons started off with a basket on the game's opening possession, but a 6-0 run from the Panthers put the hosts in a four-point hole. Both defenses were tough to crack, but Plymouth State was able to grow their advantage to 18-10 with just under nine minutes to play in the half. 

Outside of the eight minute mark, Emanuel Zayas knocked down a jumper for his first points of the night. A Hector Perez three and a Connor Walden post-up finished off a 7-0 run to bring the Beacons within one. Strong free throw shooting helped the home team pull within four points multiple times, but that was as close as they would get, heading into the locker room trailing 33-29.

The Beacons kept the deficit at four for the opening minutes of the second half, but a Plymouth State run saw the gap quickly balloon to 11, forcing UMass Boston to call a timeout. 

Out of the conference, a Walden layup and a Perez triple cut the Plymouth State lead to 43-37. The Panthers, though, were quick with a response, pushing their lead back to 11 with 10 minutes to play. 

Looking to cut into the deficit, the Beacons turned to a pair of unexpected names. Alex Woolery and Fidendi Francois went on a run of their own, scoring eight straight points to cut the Plymouth State lead to three. Though that lead grew to five momentarily, shots from Carson Meczywor, Walden, and Zayas fell in order to bring the Beacons back within one inside of five minutes to play. 

With just over three minutes to play in the game, Walden got a basket in the paint to give the Beacons their first lead of the game. Plymouth's Elijah Swanson flipped that advantage back in favor of the Panthers, only for Walden to steal the lead right back.

The two squads continued to go blow for blow late. Kyler Bosse gave Plymouth State a one-point advantage with 1:41 left, but Zayas' first three pointer of the evening put the Beacons back out in front, this time by two points. Swanson's own three saw the Panthers reclaim a one-point lead with 48 ticks remaining on the clock.

With a last-minute advantage and a chance for the end to a seven-game losing streak on the line, Walden got the call. His midrange jumper was true and a Zayas free throw closed out the game for the Beacons, who took home their second conference win and first victory of the new year, 66-64.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Walden has quickly become the Beacons second-leading scorer, improving his per game average to 14.0 with a game-high 18
• The Beacons used 16 offensive rebounds to dominate the battle of second chance points, outscoring Plymouth State 24-16 on redos
• Led by Zayas' 7-8 night at the stripe, the Beacons combined to knock down 19 of their 26 free throw attempts
• The Beacons forced 16 turnovers while committing just eight
• UMass Boston scored 15 points off of turnovers while the Panthers scored just five
  • The Beacons have won three straight against Plymouth State

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will look for their first winning streak of the season when they host Vermont State Castleton on Wednesday, January 17 at 7 PM.