Men’s Basketball
14-12 (6-8 LEC), lost in first round of LEC Tournament
Following an emotional victory in Coach Charlie Titus’s final home game, the sixth seeded Beacons headed to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to take on the Corsairs in the first round of the LEC Tournament. The Beacons had trouble keeping up in the high scoring affair, which saw UMass Dartmouth make 16 3’s. The Corsairs won 98-82, officially ending Titus’s career and bouncing the Beacons in the process. Gregory Young led the Beacons with 21 points and Omar Benabicha kicked in 14 in the process. Senior forward Carl Joseph led the Beacons in scoring this year with 17.5 points per game and Young, a fellow senior, was second on the team with 14.2. Young also led the Beacons with 3.3 assists per game. The Beacons are graduating four seniors this year, so whoever replaces Titus will have to hit the recruiting trail hard to try to build on this winning season.
Women’s Basketball
19-9 (9-5 LEC), lost in LEC Championship Game
What a season it was for the Beacons. They hadn’t won a playoff game in their history prior to this year, but came within two points of an NCAA Tournament berth. After defeating Western Connecticut State University 64-48 to end their regular season on Feb. 21, they clinched the third seed in the LEC Tournament, which earned them a home playoff date. Western Connecticut once again came calling, and the Beacons dispatched them, 56-48. With their first ever playoff win under their belts, the Beacons took on UMass Dartmouth in the LEC Semifinals, with a trip to the title game at stake. They destroyed the Corsairs, 72-49. The score was tied at 30 at halftime, but the Beacons pulled away in the second half, outscoring their opponent 42-19. Olivia Murphy had a monster game with 22 points and 13 rebounds and Kirsten Morrison kicked in 13 and 11. The next day, the Beacons faced off against Eastern Connecticut in the finals, and they needed an extra five minutes to decide the affair. While the game was tied at 50 after regulation, the scoring exploded in OT, and the Warriors snuck past the Beacons, 64-62. Grace Geary contributed 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and Morrison added 13 points and ten rebounds. Geary finishes the season with a Little East Conference Rookie of the Year award after leading the Beacons in scoring with 14.1 points per game. Murphy, who returns for her senior year next year, led the Beacons with 10.4 rebounds per game.
Women’s Hockey
10-12-4 (6-9-2 ECAC East)
The Beacons came into the ECAC Tournament ice cold, having not won since Jan. 17 and having six goals in five February matches leading up to their road game against third-seeded Manhattanville College on Feb. 28. Despite the odds, the Beacons showed up in a huge way and pulled off the upset, 3-2. Kristen Embrey scored the winning goal at 1:18 into the third period, and Alli Banchini and Lizzie Aveson added goals. Moe Bradley made 37 saves in net. From there, it was on to the semifinals against top seeded Norwich. While they put in a valiant effort, the Beacons were overpowered by the Cadets, 6-1. This ended a season of ups and downs for the Beacons, who got off to a ferocious start but were unable to stay consistent throughout the entire campaign. Samantha Fallon led the Beacons this season with eight goals. Michaela Faia and Alyssa Sullivan were right behind her with six each. Kayla Smith led the Beacons with 16 points, and Kailyn Burke led the way in net with a 2.64 goals against average.
Lacrosse
2-1 (0-0 LEC)
The guys started their season off with a bang, dominating Anna Maria College, 20-2, at Holy Cross on Feb. 25. Nine Beacons scored goals, but Ryan McGoff was the real star, with five tallies to lead all scorers. Michael Kennedy scored four goals of his own. They next traveled to Becker College on March 3, where they fought out a tough win, 13-8. The Beacons outscored the Hawks 4-0 in the final quarter and McGoff added another five goals to continue his early season hot streak. The following Friday, the Beacons closed out this stretch with a 15-8 loss to Gordon College. John Powers scored three goals for the Beacons and Donny Delpha added two of his own.
Beacon Update 3/6/2015
March 6, 2015