Team Records:
Eastern: 9-1 (1-0 LEC)
UMass Boston 6-5 (2-0 LEC)
Series History:
- 89th meeting all-time, dating back to 1983/84
- Eastern owns all time series lead, 61-27, but the Beacons have won the last four (one shy of their longest winning streak against Eastern) since the Warriors won 30 of 35 (23 straight) in the series
- Eastern and UMB are two of the Original Six members of the LEC. The teams met three times before squaring off for the first time in the LEC in 1986/87, the teams splitting those games, each winning at home
- Eastern is 7-3 in its last ten games against UMB at home, but the Beacons have won the last two, +70-62 last year and +66-60 in 2023/24
- Last meeting: 2024/25, -62-70 (at Eastern)
- Last win: 2022/23, +62-58 (at Eastern)
- Last loss: 2024/25, -62-70 (at Eastern)
Game Notes:
- UMB is ranked fourth in the LEC pre-season poll, Eastern sixth.
- UMB split its 16 LEC regular-season games a year ago, sharing fourth place in the LEC and as the No. 4 seed, reached the LEC semifinals before a 95-75 loss at No. 1 Keene State College
- Eastern shared seventh place in the LEC last year and failed to qualify for the LEC tournament for the second straight year
- UMass looks for its third LEC win without a loss this year while Eastern won its LEC opener at Western Connecticut a month ago.
- The Beacons knocked off four-time defending LEC tournament champion Keene State College, 74-69, in early December at Spaulding Gymnasium, getting 25 points from 6-foot-3 inch guard Raphel Laurent, last year's LEC Rookie-of-the-Year
- Today's game is the fifth straight road game (3-1 record) for the Beacons; the Warriors are 5-0 at home this year and bring an overall six-game win streak into action. UMB is 3-3 away from the Clark Athletic Center
- The 9-1 start for Eastern (the Warriors started 1-9 two years ago) matches its best start since 2017/18, when it finished 26-4 and won the LEC tournament title. A win today would match a 10-1 start from 2011/12 when the Warriors eventually opened 14-1, also won the LEC tournament title and reached the third round of the NCAA tournament.
- Earlier this week, Julian Sanchez earned MVP honors of the Eastern Holiday Invitational for the second straight year with two-game totals of 47 points and 22 rebounds... Sanchez was 16-of-22 from the floor (7-of-9 from distance) with only two turnovers in 56 minutes
- In the invitational, Jalen Hamblin followed with 35 points and 13 rebounds, Dominick Dao 33 points and six assists, Ray Carter 20 points, Michael Carothers ten assists and Drew Soltis a team-high 24 rebounds.
- Coming off the bench in all ten games this year, Sanchez leads the team in scoring (18.2), rebounding (9.2), FG pct. (67.9), and three-point FG pct. (61.5) and averages only 2.4 turnovers per 40 minutes.
- Five Eastern players average double figures. Behind Sanchez are Hamblin (15.7), Dao (13.4), Carter (11.5) and Soltis (10.1). Sanchez (9.2) is first in the LEC in three-point FG pct. (61.5) and second in rebounding and Soltis is second in the LEC in FG percentage (61.5) behind Sanchez.
- Sanchez ranks first in New England and fifth nationally in FG percentage while point guard Michael Carothers leads New England and is ranked in a tie for fourth nationally in assists (6.5). Carothers is also 13th nationally and second in the LEC in assist/turnover ratio (3.61).
- Eastern (69.0 ppg.) ranks first in the LEC in scoring defense, scoring margin (+12.3), defensive rebounding (30.1), rebounding margin (+11.8), assist average (18.5) and opposing three-point percentage (28.0) and second in scoring offense (81.3).
- UMB's Cameron Perkins (24.0) and Laurent (22.4), both sophomores, lead the LEC in scoring, averaging nearly 60 percent of their team's 78 points per game. Laurent is also the LEC leader in steals (2.3) and average minutes (38.3) and Perkins trailing only Sanchez in three-point FG percentage (46.9).
- Perkins' 47 points in a 91-86 overtime loss at Salem State University Nov. 13 are the most in the LEC this year. Perkins also netted 31 in a 96-89 loss at Bowdoin College eight days later.
- Eastern has four of the top individual rebound totals in the LEC this year: Sanchez had 15 twice, Soltis had 15 once and 14 once…
Upcoming:
The Warriors play their fourth straight home game Tuesday, hosting UMass Dartmouth at 3 p.m. in the second of 15 straight season-ending LEC games. The Corsairs corralled the sixth and final LEC playoff spot last year (one game ahead of Eastern) and dropped an 80-64 LEC tournament road loss at third-seeded Rhode Island College. The Corsairs were 9-17 overall, 6-10 in the LEC. UMD, also an Original Six member of the LEC, holds a 63-50 lead in the all-time series with Eastern. The Warriors swept the Corsairs a year ago with a pair of two-point decisions, winning in overtime at Geissler Gym in the back end of the two-game home-and-home series. UMD brings a 5-4 record (1-1 LEC) into Saturday's non-conference game at MIT (4-6).
