Box Score BOSTON, Mass. – Not withstanding the fact the University of Massachusetts Boston men's basketball is off to one of its best starts in many years, few expected Eastern Connecticut State University to have too much difficulty securing its 22nd straight Little East Conference victory Saturday.
But if not for the off-the-bench contributions of junior guard Michael-Thomas Sciro (Westerly, RI), that winning streak would likely have ground to a halt.
Sciro doubled his previous career best with 22 points in a career-high 25 minutes and junior guard Trachone Preston (Enfield) topped the team in scoring for the tenth time this year with 24 points as the Warriors finally shook free from the Beacons, 83-78, at the Clark Athletic Center. The pair was 10-for-12 from three-point range.
The win is the 12th straight for No. 21 Eastern (11-3, 3-0 LEC) over UMass Boston (8-4, 0-3 LEC) dating back to 2009 and keeps the defending LEC regular-season champions sharing the conference lead with UMass Dartmouth. The Corsairs, also 3-0, trimmed homestanding University of Southern Maine, 64-59, Saturday.
Playing its eighth home game this year, the Beacons led for nearly the entire afternoon, but with a pair of late runs in the second half, the Warriors were able to sneak past their conference opponent. Sciro (5-for-5 from three-point range in the game) was instrumental in the first Eastern run, which put thee Warriors out in front by two following his fifth three-pointer. That slim lead gave the Warriors all the breathing room they needed as they pushed their lead to eight scoring six straight points.
UMass did cut the Warriors' lead to two with a small run of their own, with junior forward Karl Agenor dropping in a pair of free throws, while senior forward Gregory Young drained a jumper and slammed home a huge dunk to make it 75-73 with 2:02 left.
Preston, who played all 40 minutes, kick-started the second Eastern run. The Warriors pushed their lead back to six, but they were quickly countered by junior guard Mike Campbell's three, which made it 79-76 with 59 seconds left to play.
Eastern junior guard Kevin Leumene (Stamford) made it a two-possession game after going 1-for-2 at the line, but with a hard fought lay-up by Agenor, the Beacons found themselves trailing by just two points, with 40 seconds left to play.
Freshman guard Tarchee Brown (Vernon) displayed a solid all-around game with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Averaging just under 11 rebounds a game, sophomore forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) grabbed eight and also blocked three shots to improve his team-leading total to 32 in 14 games.
Agenor was dominant all afternoon with 24 points (10-of-13 from the floor) and a game-high 16 rebounds. Off the bench, Campbell posted a career-best 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, giving each team 20-point scorers off the bench. Young finished with 15 points.
The biggest factor in the Warriors victory was their ability to hit the long range shot as they were 10-for18 from three-point range. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor but struggled at the foul line, missing 22 of 52 tries. The Warriors barely sank 50 percent of their freebies (15-of-28).
The Beacons' biggest lead of the afternoon (nine points) came in the first half on four separate occasions. However, they would head into the halftime break with a slim two-point lead over one of the top teams in the Little East.
Campbell led UMass through the first 20 minutes of play with his 11 points, while Agenor grabbed ten boards and had eight points. Preston was the driving force that kept the score close for the Warriors, as he finished with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
Eastern hosts UMass Dartmouth Tusday at 7:30 p.m. in Willimantic.
UMass Boston Sports Information contributed to this game account
