BOSTON, MA (January 27, 2024) – Behind sophomore guard Fidendi Francois and sophomore forward Connor Walden, the UMass Boston Beacons were able to sink the Anchormen of Rhode Island College from the Clark Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon in a comfortable 64-50 Little East Conference win.

Francois and Walden were hungry tonight, as they both contributed team-highs in scoring following a relentless performance on the floor. Walden finished with 19, as he connected on 57% of his shots (8/14) from the field including a bucket from downtown Dorchester. Francois finished with a season-high 14 points on four shots from the field and a 100% clean sheet from the charity stripe, knocking down six shots in three trips. Sophomore forward Dominic Shaw led the effort on the glass for the Beacs, securing a team-high 10 boards to go along with his six points and a steal. Walden and sophomore forward Erik Donaldson each contributed eight boards, a season-high for Donaldson as he also contributed three blocks in the win. Junior guard Emanuel Zayas took a backseat as the primary scorer for the Beacons tonight, as he led all Beacons in steals tonight to go with nine points and a team-high four assists. The Beacs got out in transition tonight, outscoring the Anchormen in transition 16-13. UMass also received quality minutes from its bench, as the Beacons' bench outscored the Anchormen's bench 30-4.

The Anchormen got things rolling first with Kourouma Ousmane securing the layup down the middle to open scoring. The Anchormen opened with physicality, setting the tone for a chippy game. After the Beacons failed to respond for the first two possessions, Walden finally got things rolling with a straightaway three-pointer. UMass Boston would remain a point behind, as the two teams went shot for stop, or in this game's case, stop for stop. The Beacons finally took a one-point hairline lead at the 11-minute mark in the first half. Walden connected again from downtown to add to their momentum and provided them with a three-point cushion. Zayas got in on the action by following Walden's three-pointer, with a long-range bucket of his own to further stretch their lead halfway into the first half.  The tandem continued to heat up throughout the first half to eventually ride their run to an 11-point lead at the half, as the Beacons led 31-20 at the break.

Zayas picked up right where he left off to begin the second half, opening scoring for the Beacons with a deep-range connection to increase the cushion to 13. The Anchormen were able to hold their ground however, as an Isiah McCallum three-pointer brought the Anchormen deficit to just seven with 10 minutes remaining. Sophomore guard Hector Perez, fresh off his viral game-winner against the Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State, connected from deep range to increase the Beacons' cushion back up to double digits with nine minutes to go.  With five minutes remaining, an Anchormen layup chipped the deficit to 11, but the Beacons were well in control with the victory in sight. The Beacs held on to close things out on a 10-5 run to sink the Anchorman 64-50.

With the LEC victory, the Beacs improve to 5-6 in the LEC, with a 6-14 record overall this season, as Rhode Island College falls to 13-7, 6-5 in the LEC.

UMass Boston men's basketball is back in action on Wednesday, as they travel north for a dog fight against the Huskies of the University of Southern Maine from Gorham, ME. Live stats and video coverage can be found at UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website (beaconsathletics.com).