A shorthanded UMass Boston men’s basketball team took a tough Eastern Connecticut State team into triple overtime before falling to the Warriors 112-108. The Beacons, who have had problems with depth since the start of January, had three players foul during the 55 minutes of play, leaving only five players on the floor and one on the bench.

“They played hard tonight,” said coach Charlie Titus. “I can’t be mad at them for that effort. We just need more players.”

Eric Summerville reached a career high in points with 31, but it was not enough to hold off ECSU. Eddie Ramos (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Roger Perry (24 points, 10 rebounds) each had good games in the losing effort.

UMB finished the regular season with a 5-20 record, 1-13 in Little East Conference play. The team ended the season with a five-game losing streak.

The Beacons played well in the first half, despite a limited bench. The team held a double-digit lead for much of the first half, taking a game-high 16-point lead on freshman Tony Barros’ three pointer. The Warriors, however, did sliced the lead to seven before halftime.

ECSU continued to fight back in the second half, gradually inching closer to the Beacons, until Mike Bartunek of ECSU converted on a lay-up with 8:11 to play. The Beacons eventually regained the lead and held a 3-point advantage with 46 seconds to play.

Michael Kipphut of ECSU, however, converted a 3-point play the old fashioned way. Kipphut was fouled while scoring on a lay-up. He proceeded to hit his free throw.

Both Perry and James L. Hall of UMB had chances to win the game during the last few seconds of regulation, but Perry couldn’t convert a lay-up and Hall’s 3-point attempt from the corner hit the side of the backboard.

The first overtime was initially in the Beacons favor. Perry knocked in his second three pointer of the game, and Summerville had a three pointer and a nice lay-up on a slicing drive to the basket.

But the Warriors would not go away. ECSU even had a chance to win the game in the waning seconds of the first overtime. Down by two points with four seconds left, Warrior Matt Albon made one of two free throws. Summerville received the inbounds pass, but was stripped by Albon. Ramos fouled the Warrior, sending him to the line with one tick left on the clock. Albon missed his first free throw but made the second.

The second overtime was similar to the first with the fate of the game coming down to the last minute of the extra session. The Warriors held on to the ball for the last 17 seconds, having three different opportunities to win but failing to score.

The third overtime finally fell in favor of the Warriors. With ECSU leading by the slim margin of 109-108, Christopher Morgan hit three of four free throws in the last 18 seconds to seal the game for the win.

The Beacons will travel to Keene State on Tuesday, February 24 for a first round LEC tournament contest. If the Beacons advance, the site of their second game will be determined by the outcomes of the other LEC tournament games.