Men's Basketball Downed by UMass Boston

Boston, Mass. – Behind a 47.1% shooting performance in the second half, men's basketball overcame a tough first half to outscore Framingham State University 43-19 to earn a hard fought come-from-behind 71-55 win Thursday evening in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

With the Thursday's win the Beacons close out 2012 with a 6-4 record and remain undefeated at home with a perfect 4-0 record.  For the Rams they fall to 6-4 following Thursday's loss with only one more contest before the semester break

Through the first five minutes of the second half, Framingham State managed to hold the Beacons back, maintaining their six-point lead which they closed out the first half with.  However that early momentum came to a crashing halt when freshman Jahleel Moise (Brockton, Mass.) threw-down a viscous dunk to make it a five-point affair.

Moments later, Brian Clarke (Miramar, Fla.) completed an old fashioned three point play to make it just a two point ball game.  The Rams did get the lead back to four on a jumper by senior Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.), but with a free throw from Rahshjeem Benson (Boston, Mass.) and a lay-up from Mike Mitchell, Jr. (Dorchester, Mass.) the Beacons cut the Rams lead to one. 

Framingham State tried to make another push, but it was not enough as the Beacons just controlled play on both sides of the court.  A slew of players contributed to the Beacons explosive second half, while their defensive effort was highlighted by a combined five blocks, seven steals, and 11 Framingham State turnovers.

Benson, who was quiet in the first half proved to be the driving force in the second half for UMB as he put-up 13 of his 17 points, while also pulling down six of his seven boards. Four of the five Beacons blocked shots in the second half belonged to the junior, who finished the game with seven.   

Off the bench sophomore Cody Edmond (Plaquemine, La.) also helped the Beacons offense push by the Rams as he dropped in seven points.  Moise recorded all of his points (8) in the second half and also managed eight boards and one steal.

For the Rams, their 19 point second half marked the fewest points scored this season following the halftime break.  In the final 20 minutes Framingham shot just 25% from the field and 45.5% from the line.  They were 0-for-7 from behind the arc.

Sophomore forward Andre Santana (Worcester, Mass.) was the lone Ram to finish in double-figures as he recorded 10 points off the bench to go along with six caroms.  Figueroa finished nine points and six boards, while junior Yemi Ajao (Randolph, Mass.), sophomore Patrick Cuff (Medway, Mass.) and freshman Tim Sheridan (Rutland, Mass.) chipped in eight points apiece.

Framingham struggled to possess the ball in both halves of Thursday's contest, turning it over a combined 21 times, while UMass countered with just 14 turnovers, a season low for the Beacons.

The Rams will close out the first semester when they host Alfred University on Sunday afternoon at noon.

Release courtesy of UMass Boston Sports Information.