BOSTON, MA (February 25, 2025) – The UMass Boston Beacons' men's basketball team (14-11, 8-8 Little East Conference) scored a season-high 108 points in the first round of the 2025 LEC Postseason Tournament against the University of Southern Maine (12-14, 8-8 LEC) from a packed Clark Gymnasium in Boston, MA.

It was a total team effort against the Huskies, with five Beacons entering double figures including two career-highs from rookies Raphel Laurent (Peabody, Mass.) and Davon Sanders (Mansfield, Mass.).

How it Happened:
First Half:

• Laurent found Emanuel Zayas (Hollywood, Fla.) for the Beacons' first basket, a deep contested triple to answer the Huskies first basket of the game. Zayas connected again from downtown on the following possession to strike fear into the Huskies' veins. The Beacons' PG1 was in his groove early on.
• Graduate Mark Barrett (Brookline, Mass.) connected on his first three-point attempt to ascend UMass Boston's lead to six points in the first four minutes.
• Following Barrett's triple, Laurent utilized both ends to continue to chip into the lead. He found senior Anthony Gauthier (Jaffrey, N.H.) inside on the fastbreak and, on the very next possession, forced another steal to find Gauthier again for a quick four-point turnaround in 20 seconds.
• Laurent continued to have his way on defense, with another steal and score at the 12:39 mark to give the Beacons a 12-point cushion.
• Zayas continued to break the Huskies' will with a demoralizing four-point play off the assist from Gauthier. Zayas converted the free throw, giving the Beacons a 17-point cushion.
• With two minutes remaining, a steal from Zayas led to the score from Gauthier to give the Beacons a 22-point cushion, the largest of the half.
• Tyler Victor (Brockton, Mass.) closed out the half after cleaning up his own miss with the score inside to give the Beacons 55 points over the Huskies' 35 heading into the halftime break.
• Laurent led all scorers after the first 20 minutes with 17 points on an efficient 8-11 shooting. Zayas was just behind him with 14 points on 5-9 shooting. Zayas laced three triples in the first half, and Laurent forced four steals. The Beacons outscored the Huskies by 27 points with Laurent on the floor in the first.

Second Half:

• Following seven unanswered points from the Huskies to begin the second half, Laurent put the Beacons on the board in the second with a pair of good free throws to keep the Huskies at bay with a 13-point lead.
• Sanders continued to earn his minutes in the second half. At 14:47, a Zayas steal found Laurent in transition but could not finish the layup. Sanders was there to clean up the miss with an offensive tip-in layup, his second basket of the game, giving the Beacons a 14-point cushion.
• At 13:07, Laurent continued to have his way on defense, forcing another steal that led to a fastbreak dunk that erupted the 395 in attendance at the Clark Gymnasium. With the Huskies facing a 16-point gap, Head Coach Mikey Coppersmith was forced to regroup to gameplan for the remainder of the game.
• Exiting the timeout, Gauthier's fifth assist found Zayas for the midrange jumper that continued to push the needle in favor of UMass Boston (71-54).
• Zayas connected on his fourth and final triple of the game at 8:32, giving the Beacons a 20-point gap once again, as UMass Boston began to stare victory down the barrel.
• Following Zayas' final triple, the Beacons closed out the last eight minutes on a 25-32 run to silence the Huskies on their home court in the first round of the LEC Postseason Tournament.

By the Box:

• Laurent and Zayas combined for 54, their highest combined game total of the season, with 27 each. Laurent laced 10 of 17 shots and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line, while Zayas was 9-16, including four three-pointers and a perfect 5-5 performance from the charity stripe. Laurent was a menace on the defensive end with a career-high nine steals out of the Beacons' 16 total. Zayas was also a defensive problem for the Huskies, with four total steals.
• McKenzie poured in 16 points, including three field goals and nine free throws to pair with one assist and one steal.
• Sanders registered a new career-high 16 points in 17 minutes off the bench. He knocked down an efficient 7-9 FGs with three rebounds.
• Gauthier continues to flourish when given the opportunity. The Beacs outscored the Huskies by 18 with Gauthier on the court. He added 10 points with two rebounds and a team-high five assists in 23 minutes off the bench.
• Rounding out a total team performance is Barrett, with seven total points, two assists, two steals, and a team-high nine rebounds in 28 minutes.

With the Beacons' win against the Huskies in the first round of the LEC Tournament, UMass Boston will continue their journey towards glory on Thursday (Feb. 27) in Keene, N.H. at 7:00 p.m against the LEC first-seeded Keene State Owls (20-5, 14-2 LEC) in the LEC Semifinals. Stay tuned at UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website for additional information.