Beacons Update
Men’s Basketball
The Men’s Basketball program is going into the final game of their season, this Saturday, February 20. Despite a brief stint of success at the beginning of this year’s campaign, the season has been abysmal for the most part. While Jason Harris’ first year at the helm has been a struggle, it really hasn’t been a fair test of his abilities. Most coaches are recruited with enough time to set up their recruiting process, but Harris only had a few months to make some last minute recruiting trips. By this time, many top level DIII recruits will already have committed months in advance.
The Beacons finished their season with an overall record of 6-17 and a conference record of 2-11. The Beacons will be appearing in the LEC postseason as the eighth seed. They are set to face Eastern Connecticut at the Warriors home court. The Beacons are heavy underdogs and don’t stand much of a chance against the LEC title favorite.
Women’s Basketball
Gracy Greary earned herself Little East Conference Player of the Week honors in the second to last week of season play. The 5’6″ sophomore guard has shown her elusiveness from defensive sets throughout the season. Last week, Greary averaged 25 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and three steals per game. Greary managed to do all this while shooting just under 60 percent from the field.
The Beacons are set to face their last opponent this weekend, Eastern Connecticut State. The game will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, February 20, in the Clark Gymnasium. Currently the Beacons are 14-10 overall, with an in conference record of 6-7. The University of Massachusetts Boston is positioned at sixth place in the league, just behind UMass Dartmouth. If the Beacons win against Eastern Connecticut, they will be a lock as the sixth seed for postseason play.
In the past five games, the Beacons are 4-1 overall with every win coming against LEC opponents. UMass Boston’s recent improvement in play has changed the narrative going into the postseason. The Beacons are now a legitimate threat at pulling an upset in the first round. If senior captains Olivia Murphy and Gracy Greary can continue to put up big numbers, who knows how far the team can go.
Men’s Hockey
The Men’s Hockey program will host a first round ECAC East Conference playoff match against Southern Maine University on Saturday, February 20th at 7 p.m. The Beacons head into the matchup as the first seed in the ECAC, while Southern Maine is the eighth seed. In the two times the teams faced off this season, the Beacons were able to eke out victories, despite the difficult challenge presented by the Huskies. The Beacons outscored the Huskies by four goals in the two matches. UMass Boston is a heavy favorite moving into the ECAC East Quarterfinal playoff match.
The Beacons capped the season as the first place team in the ECAC. The team finished the season with an overall record of 18-4-3, and an in conference record of 14-2-2. The incredible season play helped Matt Lemire, Colin Larkin, and Tyler Bishop achieve ECAC First Team All-Conference Awards. In addition, Head Coach Peter Belisle earned his second title for Coach of the Year. Belisle has a winning percentage of 56.8 percent in his time at UMass Boston.
The team has been a clear force in NEHC play, running most opponents out of the building. Larkin ended the season with 24 total assists on the year, Bishop aided the defensive line while totaling up 10 goals, and many other players were essential contributors to the team’s success. Hopefully the team can propel their momentum into the postseason.
Women’s Hockey
Women’s Hockey is having a great year under the guidance of first-year coach Lindsay Berman. The team is now 12-11 overall and 10-5 in conference matches. In their past four matches, the Beacons have gone 3-1, earning three in conference victories against Franklin Pierce University, Nichols College and Salve Regina University. The Beacons are positioned to make a decent run in the NEHC postseason. Collectively, they have been able to turn the second half of the season into a fantastic run of success. Regardless of results in the postseason, the Beacons look as though they will only improve moving into the second season under Berman’s guidance.