The Beacons got Xavier McKenzie back Wednesday, Jan. 29 and took a seven point lead off a Tyler Victor tip-in with just under 16 minutes to play in the second half against Western Connecticut State — who sits two spots ahead in the LEC. Since that mark, 42-35 Beacons, West Conn. went on a 33-9 run over the last 15 minutes — a disastrous close for UMass Boston.
“No Zayas,” yelled West Conn head coach Guy Rancourt, as well as a vocal bench, whenever the senior guard checked out of the game for UMass Boston. It was only then the Beacons saw a straight up defense out of the Wolves, who spent most of the night shielding Emanuel Zayas from the ball and doubling him on nearly every touch. The Wolves were adamant all night about denying him, and the Beacons were forced to go in a different direction.
Zayas finished with nine points on just six shots, hitting a few tough threes.
McKenzie was tasked with offense, putting up sixteen shots to Zayas’ six. He scored 17 points in 37 minutes — the only Beacon with double figures.
Cameron Gallen led the Wolves with 15 points along with two steals and two blocks, but it was West Conn’s depth and defense that shined. Nine of Guy Rancourt’s players notched 14 minutes or more, and 10 scored compared to UMass Boston’s six.
It was steady scoring for the two LEC teams until the Beacons couldn’t score, nearly at all, in the latter part of the second half. Not happy with the officiating, seemingly, was UMass Boston head coach Jason Harris, who voiced his displeasure at various times down the stretch.
The Beacons bounced back — in a big way — just three days later against Rhode Island College, who sits second in the LEC. UMass Boston handed the Anchormen their third conference loss of the year in an 84-79 win in Rhode Island.
Freshman guard Raphel Laurent dropped 25 points in the win, rallying after his nine point performance against West Conn in which he snapped a 10 game streak with 10 or more points. At 6’3”, Laurent has provided versatility to the Beacons. He’s big, strong, can defend and rebound, and as the year has run on, his scoring touch has taken off. Just in January, he was averaging around eight points per game; he’s up over 12 now.
Beating Rhode Island anchors the Beacons back over .500 on the year, to 10-9. They’re 5-6 in the Little East, and would finish fourth if the season had ended on Monday Feb. 3.
Comfortably ahead of seventh place, UMass Boston is looking like they’ll clinch the playoffs soon. However, as the current fourth seed, the Beacons are in position to host the fifth seed in the first round of the LEC Tournament. That fifth seed right now, on Feb. 3, is Southern Maine.
The Huskies have the same 4-5 LEC record as the Beacons and will walk into the Clark Athletic Center today, Wednesday, Feb. 5. It will be the largest game to date for UMass Boston.
