For a young relatively inexperienced team, the UMass Boston men’s basketball team did as well as could be expected in the month of January.
During the last home game before the start of the spring semester, juniors Roger Perry and Eric Summerville lit up the Clark Athletic Center, scoring 30 and 29 points respectively, to lead the Beacons over the Huskies of Southern Maine, 94-85. Both Perry and Summerville set personal bests for a single game in scoring.
Although the Huskies came into the game with a 6-9 record, the team featured Jason Levecque, a member of the Little East Conference first team and co-player of the year for the 2002-03 season. UMB had other motivations as well. Last season, the Beacons lost a pair of close contests to USM, including a gut wrenching 73-71 loss at home. In that game, the team held several double-digit leads, only to watch USM pull out the victory.
The Beacons recorded their first Little East Conference (LEC) win of the season against the Huskies. The Beacons will travel up to Maine for a rematch on Tuesday, February 5.
UMB has featured a small, quick lineup for most of the season, and at times it has had trouble against a taller opponent. Newcomer Tony Barros, who joined the team at the start of the New Year, is listed as the tallest player at 6’4″. And he plays at guard.
But sometimes size is nothing more than a state of mind. Take Eddie Ramos. The 6’2″ Beacon forward out rebounded 6’6″ Husky center Jesse McKinnell, 14-10. Ramos also contributed significantly in the scoring department (17 points).
Levecque, who killed the Beacons with a total of 59 points in the two games last season, again displayed his offensive touch with a 25-point effort. The junior guard from Westbrook Maine demonstrated many of the skills that landed a share of the LEC player of the year for the 2002-03 season.
The game saw several stretches of dominance for both teams, but the score remained relatively close for much of it, as there 14 lead exchanges. UMB came out with guns a-blazing, running out to a quick 9-0 lead. USM, however, countered with a 17-7 run to take their first lead.
The Beacons held a slim 38-37 advantage at halftime. The score remained close until UMB burst out in front with a 10-2 run. It was Perry who was en fuego, as the Roxbury native drained shot after shot from three-point territory. He also did his job at the charity, converting 11 out of 14 free throws.
Perry’s partner in crime, Summerville, displayed an equally hot hand, shooting 11-20 in the field, while dishing eight assists and picking the Huskies pocket six times. Before you could say “mush,” the Beacons had a fifteen-point lead and were on their way to a fourth win.
Two nights later, the Beacons did lose on the road to Bridgewater State, 70-63, despite holding an eight-point lead at halftime. Over the weekend, the team traveled to Western Connecticut and lost 87-75. Summerville led all Beacons in scoring with 20 points. He also took home the LEC Player of the Week for the week of January 18-24
The Beacons will be in action on Saturday, January 31 at 3pm against LEC leader Keene State at the Clark Athletic Center.