After a frustrating 2-5 start of the 2004-5 season, UMB won in overtime competition at Western Connecticut State University, 104-97, on Saturday, December 4. The Beacons opened their Little East Conference play with a victory for the first time in four years.

The first win over the Colonials eased UMB’s early hardships at the beginning of the weak, a last-minute defeat against Emerson College on Tuesday, 86-83, and a one-point overtime loss to Suffolk University on Thursday, 77-76.

Suffolk, once falling behind by 11 points in the second half, tenaciously came back to tie and defended a microscopic lead, surpassing the Beacons in five minutes of overtime play by one point.

Trailing by 74-77 in overtime, the Beacons closed in on the visitors with a layup by sophomore Tony Barros with the clock ticking 1:01. But the home team failed to execute the final chance to upset the score, as senior Roger Perry received the throw-in at 0:08 only to fumble the ball and allow a fatal steal to hear the game-ending buzzer.

The Beacons first-year Interim Head Coach Rodney Hughes protected the point guard. “I want Roger to have the ball in that situation 15 out of 15 times. He is my man. I trust him when he holds the ball more than anybody, because I know he will do the right thing,” he commented.

Still, the skipper regrets the loss against an opponent which UMB easily defeated, 95-86, last year, “I don’t know how to say [about the loss] which you were supposed to win. It’s really frustrating.” In the tense 45-minute battle, senior Eric T. Bateman led the Beacons by scoring 19 points and added seven rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes of play. Perry had 15 points with two assists. Freshman Alberto Paniagua added 11 points, as senior Eric Summerville followed with 10. The onset of the game silently proceeded as the both teams repeatedly missed goal attempts. Earlier than the visitors, UMB picked up the rhythm to build a 22-11 lead on a basket count by Perry. Suffolk, now 2-3 on the season, bounced back with a 17-10 run immediately after one of them successfully found a contact lens he lost on the floor, entering halftime closely chasing the Beacons by 38-34. For Suffolk, Chris Emma finished with 16 points and five assists. Josh Morelock lifted the team up with his double-double performance (12 points, 11 rebounds), while four others had more than 10 points. The Beacons launched a 16-9 run at the beginning of the second half, which widened the gap to eleven points, 54-43, helped by a couple of short-jumpers by Paniagua, a Little East Conference Rookie of the Week winner in the period of November 22-28. Then, Suffolk hit five field goals and a foul throw, to tie the game within two minutes, 54-54. Two teams were at a full tilt to exchange two or three-point leads, before UMB nearly grabbed a victory, up 70-65 with 1:19 left. But a layup by Emma and an improbable three-pointer by Brad Schoonmaker tied the game as the clock was at 0:18. Hughes recollected the scene, “I think we should have spread [the players in defense a little bit,” said Hughes. “That was crazy. That kid (Schoonmaker) even didn’t shoot it. He just threw it.” UMB still had plenty of time to kill the Suffolk’s bid for a come-from-behind win. But the last possession of the half resulted in a missed pass to go out of bounds and another five minutes to play in overtime. This almost meant a psychological defeat to the Beacons after losing the we-used-to-have-it big margin 10 minutes prior. In the sudden death situation, Schoonmaker knocked down his second three-point money-shot to give Suffolk a 77-74 lead at 1:18. A layup by Paniagua made the Beacons close by one with 1:01 left. Two consecutive misdirected shots by Suffolk and a defensive rebound by Barros gave UMB another game-winning opportunity, as anticipation in the faithful home crowd reached the peak. However, Summerville missed his three-point attempt with 13 seconds to go before Perry missed the last bid to hand the glory over to the visitor. The Beacons suffered from well-organized team defense by Suffolk. The tight defense inside the paint didn’t allow UMB much space and forced the home team to shoot from distance. UMB hit 28 out of 59, while Suffolk finished with a 30-for-68 shooting.

Hughes repeated that the regretful result is mainly due to the defense. “We lost against Emerson by three and this game by one. We are there. We just have to play a lot better defense. I think the guys are so concentrated on offense and just want to get it to go. Defensively, they are not concentrated enough. Basically, that’s it,” he commented.

The Beacons committed a total of 18 personal fouls to give 23 foul throws for the visitor who hit 13 of them. The Beacons were 10 for 13 from the line. UMB outshoot Suffolk in three-pointers, 10-4.

As of December 2, Barros ranks fourth in points per game in LEC (19.4), while Perry is in the eighth (16.8).

The Beacons will play at home against Salem State College on Thursday, December 9, and LEC-foe Keene State College on Saturday, before the schedule gives them a three-week break until the beginning of January, 2005.