BOSTON, MA (November 11, 2024) --The Beacons' basketball team is undergoing their preparations for another season of UMass Boston-ball, with the season opener this Tuesday, November 12, against the Salve Regina Seahawks from Newport, R.I.

The team is coming off a first-round exit from the Little East Conference (LEC) Tournament in which they succumbed to the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth (83-103). Several athletes will be returning for another go at the LEC Championship in the coming season, namely the likes of Emanuel "Manny" Zayas (Hollywood, FL), Hector Perez (Easton, Mass.) and Ish Fofana (Boston, MA) will be highly anticipated.

Zayas led the Beacons in scoring the previous season with 18 points per game and shooting 37.1% from beyond the three-point arc. While Fofana was fourth in scoring, putting in 7.3 points per game, had the third best field goal percentage on the team at 44.6% and was third in rebounding with 4.3 rebounds per game, in only 10 games played.

Together the team had a record of seven wins and 19 losses, however seven of the losses came by 10 points or less, and three of them by only two points. The returning core team has built chemistry on the court from years of playing together as Beacons. Five incoming freshmen joining the unit bodes well for optimism to start off the season. Head Coach Jason Harris has his plate full when looking for minutes between the new freshmen and returning contributors, like Erik Donaldson (East Longmeadow, MA), Fidendi Francois (Somerville, MA), or Carson Meczywor (Adams, MA), who all averaged over 19 minutes per game the previous season.

Also making his highly anticipated return to the squad is sophomore Xavier Mackenzie (Lowell, Mass.). In 2022, Mackenzie averaged 14.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 4.5 RPG to go along with two steals a night as an integral part of the 2022 squad. Mackenzie's presence on the offensive side of the floor provides a whole different look to this year's offense, as the three-level-threat can score from anywhere on the court, which will ultimately lead to opportunities for his teammates to knock down open shots off the double-team.

This iteration of Beacon Basketball is projected to finish fifth in the LEC, based on the 2024-25 LEC Coaches Preseason Poll. However, they will not play their first conference game until they travel to Western Connecticut to play the projected second-best team in the LEC on December 1^st. The Beacons host their first LEC matchup on December 4, against the Rhode Island College Anchormen.

The Beacons return to the Clark Gymnasium for the initiation of the 2024-25 season this Friday, November 15 in the fourth annual, 2024 Black Collegiate Head Coaches Classic. This year there will be two games played on Friday, November 15^th. UMass Boston will play host in back-to-back games as the opening tip off is scheduled for Brandeis vs Lesley, and  will tip off at 5:00 pm, followed by a 7:00 pm tip, seeing the Beacons suit up against Colby-Sawyer College.