BOSTON, Mass. - Trailing Eastern Connecticut State by four points with nine seconds to play, UMass Boston Men's Basketball looked to be well on their way to a crushing defeat on Friday night. That was until Manny Zayas and
Hector Perez combined to score five points in the final three seconds to steal an improbable 72-71 victory.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 72, Eastern Connecticut State University 71
UMass Boston (5-13, 4-5 LEC)
Eastern Connecticut State University (4-14, 1-8 LEC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Strong shooting helped the Beacons build out multiple leads in the first half. With just over four minutes run off the clock,
Alex Woolery knocked down a three-pointer to stretch the UMass Boston lead to four points. Though the score was quickly tied by Eastern Connecticut, A triple by Zayas and a close-range jumper by
Carson Meczywor put them back out in front by five.
Twice during the opening half, a Zayas three-pointer stretched the UMass Boston lead to eight, the largest of the game. But each time the Beacons got out in front, the Warriors had a response. With just over four minutes to play, an Eastern Connecticut three-pointer flipped the lead in their favor. The lead grew as large as six for the visitors, before Woolery knocked down a jumper to cut the deficit to four going into the half.
The two teams continued to trade blows to open the second half, but it was a 10-0 run for the Beacons that put them in the driver's seat, leading 45-39 just under six minutes into the frame. The run was sparked by five points from
Bobby Joy in his first game back from an injury.
A 55-55 deadlock with just under six minutes to play gave way to an 11-2 run for Eastern Connecticut that put the Warriors up by nine points with less than two minutes to play.
A late Zayas triple kept the Beacons within striking distance, trailing 69-67 with 17 seconds to play. The Warriors, though, all but iced the game, knocking down a pair of free throws to stretch their lead to four.
A Zayas three with three seconds left to play appeared to be cosmetic, cutting the lead to 71-70. The inbound pass, however, was broken up by
Fidendi Francois, who had the awareness to throw the ball to Perez. With the difference between a win and a loss in his hands, Perez delivered, knocking down the midrange jumper to seal the 72-71 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Zayas led all scorers with 31 points on 9-13 shooting from three-point range
- The Beacons won the battle for second chance points 16-12
- Connor Walden contributed seven points, six assists, and seven rebounds to the cause
- The Beacons have swept the season series with Eastern Connecticut for the first time since the 2019-2020 season
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will take their season-long three-game winning streak to Danbury on Wednesday night when they take on Western Connecticut State University at 7:30 PM.
