Men’s Basketball
12-13 (6-8 LEC). Lost in LEC tournament
The most recent stretch for the guys started with a hard-fought dramatic win at home over Plymouth State, 65-64. Brian Clarke led the way with 16 points and the Beacons shot 52 percent from the field on the way to their senior night victory. The guys followed up that win with an equally impressive win on the road at UMass Dartmouth. Despite trailing 43-25 at halftime, the guys roared back in the 2nd half, scoring 51 points and sinking the lowly Corsairs, 76-74. Rahshjeem Benson had a monster game, with 8 boards to go along with 21 points.
Unfortunately, following a 74-44 loss to Eastern Connecticut, the guys could not pull out an opening-round win in the LEC tournament. The guys fell to Southern Maine, 85-65, even though they outscored the Huskies in the 2nd half. Once again, Benson put in a great effort, with 18 points and 11 boards. Although this season ended on a down note, the Beacons showed great promise and a new defensive mindset that allowed them to surpass their 2011-12 win total by eight games. Look for big things from this young team next season.
Women’s Basketball
14-12 (6-8 LEC). Lost in LEC tournament
Talk about a great turnaround! The ladies of women’s basketball managed to grab eight more wins than last year’s team, led by some very talented young players. They demolished Plymouth State, 65-33 on the 11th behind 20 points from Andrea Suffredini and seven assists from Lauren Perra. After a blizzard-delayed, 65-58 loss at UMass Dartmouth, the ladies closed out the regular season with a very impressive 59-47 win on the road at Eastern Connecticut. Freshman star Olivia Murphy led the way with 14 points in a total team effort.
Unfortunatley, the Beacons couldn’t carry the momentum into their first-round game in the LEC tournament. As a six-seed, they had to return to UMass Dartmouth, where they lost 71-59 in a game that was much tighter than the score indicates. Olivia Murphy had a monster game with 21 points and 15 boards, but it wasn’t enough as Erika Bornemann of the Corsairs had an equally huge game, with 23 points and 18 boards. Despite the early exit, the Beacons had a special season. This team is most certainly heading in the right direction and may be a trendy conference championship pick heading into the 2013-14 season.
Men’s Hockey
18-5-2 (11-5-2 ECAC)
The dream season for this year’s team has continued; they won a blizzard-postponed match on Feb. 11 against University of New England, 7-4, before they whooped St. Michael’s College at home, 5-0, on the 15th. Freshman goalie Zach Andrews recorded his 2nd career shutout in the victory. Andrews has turned into a very reliable presence in net for the Beacons, with 16 wins, 2 ECAC rookie of the week awards, and a goals against average of 3.4. Mike DeGrazia has also played a fantastic season for the 11th-ranked Beacons. At one point he was leading all of Division 3 in points per game, and is still putting up eye-popping numbers. The senior has 16 goals and 17 assists in what has been a career year.
The guys will almost certainly make the NCAA tournament if they can go far in the ECAC tournament, where they are the 2 seed, but winning the division has always been the goal and that hasn’t changed. They suffered a tough defeat on home ice to No. 1 Norwich in their regular season finale, 4-2, but they will get another shot at them if they can make it to the finals.
The guys played their first game of the ECAC tournament on Saturday, against the University of New England on home ice. They will be playing in the ECAC semifinals this week against an opponent that’s to be determined.
Women’s Hockey
8-13-4 (5-9-4 ECAC)
On Feb. 11, the Ladies fell to St. Anselm, 3-1. They followed that up with a tough, 3-2 loss to Southern Maine. Samantha Fallon and Sarahanne Cavolo scored the 2 goals for the Beacons. Fallon’s shot found the back of the net with just 25 seconds to go to force OT, but USM got the win just 2 minutes in to the extra period. The next day, they were back at it on their home ice, and, despite a great defensive effort and great play in goal by Casey Schaejbe, they fell, once again in OT, 2-1. There was no time to dwell on the loss, because the Beacons had to prepare for their opening game in the ECAC tournament, on the road at Castleton State. In the matchup, the ladies managed to pull off the huge upset and advance to the ECAC semifinals with the wild, 5-3 win. They don’t know who their next opponent will be but they have received a huge boost of confidence with the unexpected win.