'BOSTON, MA - Sophomore guard Amigo Paniagua (Santiago, DR) made
a lay-up with five seconds remaining and junior swingman Tony
Barros (Dorchester, MA) netted a game-high 26 points to lead the
University of Massachusetts Boston men's basketball team over Keene
State College, 90-88, this afternoon in a Little East Conference
contest at the Clark Athletic Center on the UMass Boston
campus. The Beacons improve to 13-8 overall and 8-2 in the
LEC to take over sole possession of first place in the LEC
standings, while the Owls fall to 14-6 and 7-3.
Keene State owned an 86-82 lead with 1:24 to play in the game,
before Paniagua converted a lay-up with 1:06 showing in the second
half. The Owls' Matt Hickey slipped on the floor on the
following inbounds play and senior Charles Yuan (Lynn, MA) picked
up the loose ball, after the fall, for UMB and took it in for an
easy lay-up with 54 seconds and an 86-86 tie. The teams
traded hoops and then Keene State College's David Sontag tried to
split a pair of defenders after the inbounds play, but lost his
balance and the ball as Yuan came up with the steal with 19 seconds
left. Following a UMass Boston timeout, Paniagua worked his
way in for a tough lay-up that found the bottom of the net, serving
as the eventual game-winner with five seconds to go in the
game. Sontag's three-point try for the Owls was no good and
the Beacons came away with the win.
Keene State raced out to a 15-4 advantage in the first four
minutes of play, fueled by a pair of three-pointers by Matt Hickey,
but UMass Boston scored the next seven points to pull to within
15-11 with 12:47 on the first half clock. The Owls built
their lead back to 26-17 with 7:38 remaining in the first half, but
the Beacons wouldn't go away, as senior guard Eric T. Bateman
(Glassboro, NJ) canned a three-pointer with 6:07 showing in the
first session to make it 26-23. Keene State responded with a
10-3 run, paced by eight points from Tyler Kathan, to increase it's
lead to 36-26 with 4:28 left in the first half. The Owls
maintained their lead and took a 40-32 margin to the
intermission.
Keene State owned a 46-32 advantage with 18:47 to play in the
second stanza, but UMass Boston came alive with a 21-8 run, behind
11 points from Barros, to cut the deficit to 54-53 with 14:36 to go
in the second half. Freshman center Rodney Bennett (Boston,
MA) later made a lay-up for UMB for its first lead of the day at
58-57 with 12:23 to play in the game. Kathan hit a lay-up at
10:29 to give the Owls a 63-61 lead with 10:29 showing as they held
onto their advantage, leading by as many as six points, until
Paniagua's game-winning shot for the Beacons.
Barros added four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal
to his day, while Paniagua scored 15 points to go with six
rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals for UMB. Bennett
came off the bench to drop in 14 points and grab nine boards in
addition to five blocks and two assists. Yuan chipped in with
12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and an assist and sophomore
point guard A.J. Titus (Roxbury, MA) led all playmakers with nine
assists and added four points, three rebounds and two steals.
Kathan led Keene State with 21 points in addition to seven
rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Sontag contributed with 14
points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Hickey finished
with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
UMass Boston will be in action again on Tuesday, February 7 when
it hosts Little East Conference foe University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth at 7:30 p.m. in the Clark Athletic Center, while the Owls
host Eastern Connecticut State University on February 7 at 7:30
p.m.
(Courtesy UMB Sports Information)
