BOSTON, MA (February 18, 2025) – The UMass Boston Beacons' men's basketball team (12-11, 7-8 Little East Conference) will host the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans (4-18, 3-11 LEC) in the 2024-25 LEC Regular Season Finale from the Clark Gymnasium on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., as the Beacons will honor six seniors in their final regular season home game donning the Beacons' threads.
Looking ahead:
As it currently stands, the Beacons are in fourth place in the LEC, two wins behind the third-seeded Rhode Island College Anchormen and one game ahead of the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Both the Huskies and the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs are tied for fifth place with a 6-8 LEC record, with each team playing two games remaining in the season. If the Beacons end the season with the fourth seed in the conference, they will host either the Huskies or the Corsairs in the first round of the LEC Postseason tournament.
History:
Earlier this season, the Beacons outlasted the Spartans in overtime, scoring 89 to the Spartans' 85 led by a 30-piece from Emanuel Zayas (Hollywood, Fla.) and 16 points from first-year Raphel Laurent (Peabody, Mass.). UMass Boston has won nine of their last ten games against the Spartans, with the most significant in January 2020 through an 84-48 rally.
This Season: UMass Boston
The Beacs have won five of nine games on their home court this season and are most recently coming off an 88-57 offensive onslaught against the Plymouth State Panthers, their largest win margin of the season. The Beacons also recorded notable victories against the Curry College Colonels (101-72), Penn College (99-77), and Salem State University (85-78). As a unit, the Beacons are averaging 77.8 points per game, and attribute for 36.4 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 9.3 steals, and 3.3 blocks per game. The Beacons enter Wednesday's matchup with a trio of double-digit nightly scorers in Zayas (16.4 PPG), Laurent (12.5 PPG), and Xavier McKenzie (Lowell, Mass.) with 15.4 PPG. Zayas leads all scorers with 378 points in 23 games this season, followed by Laurent with 288 in the same stretch. McKenzie has totaled 247 points in just 16 games. Zayas and McKenzie are the lead shooters from beyond the arch, with Zayas averaging 2.9 3PM per game, followed by McKenzie with 1.8 3PM per game. Zayas has connected on 66 triples this season. Graduate forward Mark Barrett (Brookline, Mass.) has been an anchor on both sides of the ball for UMass Boston this season. Barrett leads the team in rebounds and blocks, with 5.7 rebounds per game (131 total rebounds in 23 games) and 1.0 blocks per game. Barrett is just behind Zayas in total assists this season with 3.3 per game (77 in 23 games). Zayas and Barrett also lead the defensive effort on the perimeter with a combined 3.4 steals per game. The Beacons are currently the fourth-best three-point shooting team in the LEC with 208 made through 23 games (183-527 - 34.7%).
This Season: VTSU Castleton
The Spartans enter Wednesday fresh off a 77-64 win against the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors from Willimantic, CT, their first win in the last seven games. On the road, they are 2-10 overall. The Spartans are scoring 71.7 points per game, and average 36.3 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 9.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game. The Spartans will enter Wednesday with a triad of double-digit nightly scorers in Troy Butler (15.2 PPG in 13 games), Will Radcliff (14.1 PPG in 22 GP), and Ben Seiler (12.0 PPG in 22 GP). Butler leads the defensive and playmaking charge with team highs in steals per game (2.2 SPG), and assists (2.5 APG).
Recognizing Seniors:
The Beacons will recognize six seniors playing in their final regular season home game donning the Beacons' threads. Zayas, Barrett, Bobby Joy (Harwich, Mass.), Anthony Gauthier (Jaffrey, N.H.), Tyler Victor (Brockton, Mass.) and Ish Fofana (Boston, Mass.) will each be called upon to be celebrated for their sacrifices and commitment to the Beacons' program.
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