The University of Massachusetts Men’s Basketball team enters the Spring semester having already exceeded several goals. Despite a current three-game losing streak made most recently with a 79-77 loss to Little East Conference opponent Western Connecticut State University at home, the Beacons’ 10 wins for the season have already exceeded their six-win total from all of last year. They also have won one more LEC game than the two contests that last year’s squad managed to snatch on the win column. With eight more games left in their season before the LEC tournament takes shape, the time has become vital for the Beacons program to close what has been a vastly improved season strong.
Leading the way for their campaign are a pair of senior big men recruited by the now-retired legendary coach Charlie Titus. Forward-center Sam Freeman leads the entire Beacons roster with a 17.5 points per game average, as well as a rebounding average of 6.8 per game. The other senior, Dan Powers, has averaged a double-double per game, with 12.3 points and a program-leading 10.6 rebounds.
Supporting their efforts in the back court are one guard recruited by Titus and another recruited by current boss Jason Harris: Iser Barnes and Alex Sanchez, respectively. Barnes’ 13.4 points per game average leads all Beacons back court players, while freshman Sanchez is the last of the four Beacons to average scoring in double figures, at 10.2 points per game. He is also second among Beacons players in total assists, one behind fellow freshman Ty Lee, who also boasts the best assists per game average at four per contest, though it should be noted he’s only played in 12 games this year, of which nine have been starts. Senior guard Careem Kirksey rounds out the regular starters for the Beacons, with a 9.0 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game averages on the year so far. Another Titus recruit, senior Neil Cesar, has been the sixth man off the bench for the Beacons program, shown by averages of 5.5 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per contest to round out the regular contributors.
Of the final eight games of the season, all but one will be LEC contests, the lone non-league tilt being a home contest with Pine Manor College on the first of February. Before that, two league contests cap off January, with LEC title contenders Keene State University and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth giving the Beacons good tests on their Clark Athletic Center home court. After the Pine Manor game, the Beacons face a road trek to Rhode Island College before hosting the last two games of their home slate with the University of Southern Maine and Plymouth State University, the latter being on Senior Day for the Beacon seniors. Road games at UMass Dartmouth and Eastern Connecticut State complete the season, the latter currently undefeated in the LEC with a 7-0 record. Given this gauntlet, a .500 split over these games is a plausible and doable target. Playing smart basketball will help with the team, too, particularly in cutting down on turnovers. With how the season shapes up, it will set a great path to success for this Beacons program for years to come, as more and more of Harris’ recruits come in and buy into his ambitions and culture for this team.