Western Connecticut pulled to within 45-43 following a pair of free throws from Carlos Pellot (Carmel, NY) at 19:08 of the second half, but UMass Boston went on a 16-6 run, paced by five points each from senior swingman Tony Barros (Dorchester, MA) and freshman guard Anthony Matlock (Seattle, WA), to take a 61-49 advantage with 14:29 left in the second stanza. The Beacons later increased their lead to 67-52, following a three-pointer from junior guard A.J. Titus (Roxbury, MA) at 11:26 of the second half, but the Colonials stayed in it with a 16-6 stretch, fueled by eight points from Pellot, to cut the deficit to 73-68 with 6:03 remaining in the game. It would be as close as they would come as UMass Boston led by as many as 14 the rest of the way.
Western Connecticut took an 8-2 lead to open the game as the Beacons missed their first seven field goal attempts. UMass Boston soon got over its shooting woes and went on a 17-4 run to take a 19-12 lead with 11:03 showing on the first half clock. The Beacons maintained their lead at 21-14 with 10:30 left in the opening half, but the Colonials put together a 9-2 burst to knot the contest at 23-23 with 7:01 to go in the first session. The teams remained tied at 25-all with 6:50 to play in the first half, before UMass Boston ripped off eight straight points in a span of 43 seconds to take a 33-25 advantage with 6:07 showing. Western Connecticut chipped away at the deficit and a three-pointer by Tyshawn Gillespie (Hartford, CT) gave it a 40-38 margin with 2:22 left in the initial period. The Beacons closed out the half with a 7-1 run, with five points coming from Paniagua, to give them a 45-41 halftime lead.
Paniagua was 10-17 from the floor for UMass Boston, including 2-2 from three-point range and was 9-12 from the line to go with four steals and two assists, while Barros netted 22 points and was 8-9 from the line in addition to grabbing six rebounds and passing for four assists. He also made a pair of steals to tie him for the UMB career record with 231. Junior forward Mark Doran (South Boston, MA) chipped in with 10 points, eight boards, a steal and an assist in 23 minutes off the bench, while Titus dropped in nine points and added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Pellot led the Colonials with 25 points on 9-16 from the floor and a perfect 6-6 from the line to go with six rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Gillespie netted 20 points on 7-13 from the field, including 2-2 from three-point range, made two steals, dished for a pair of assists and collected a rebound. Jamie Procino (Yorktown Heights, NY) contributed with 16 points on 7-8 from the floor to go with six boards and two steals, while Jeff Cappa (Waterbury, CT) chipped in with 14 points on 5-9 from the field and added two rebounds, two steals and two assists.
The Beacons will be in action again on Saturday, February 3 when they hit the road to face Little East Conference foe Keene State College in Keene, NH at 3:00 p.m., while Western Connecticut travels to Bridgewater, MA on February 1 to take on Bridgewater State College at 7:00 p.m.
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Newspaper Box Score Western Connecticut vs UMass Boston 1/27/07 3:30 p.m. at Boston, MA - Clark Athletic Center At Boston, MA - Clark Athletic Center UMASS BOSTON 99, WESTERN CONNECTICUT 90 WESTERN CONNECTICUT (12-7, 6-3 LEC) Carlos Pellot 9-16 6-6 25; Tyshawn Gillespie 7-13 4-5 20; Jamie Procino 7-8 2-5 16; Jeff Cappa 5-9 2-2 14; Stephen Faulkner 0-10 4-8 4; Dashon Jennings 1-4 1-2 3; Tony Peluso 1-4 0-0 2; Marcus Mann 1-3 0-0 2; Lionel Assie 1-2 0-0 2; Taeshon Johnson 1-3 0-0 2; Emory Lewis 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Marchant 0-0 0-0 0; Anthony Raggi 0-0 0-0 0; Hampton Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-72 19-28 90. UMASS BOSTON (7-11, 3-6 LEC) Amigo Paniagua 10-17 9-12 31; Tony Barros 6-16 8-9 22; Mark Doran 4-10 2-2 10; A.J. Titus 2-6 4-4 9; Anthony Matlock 3-5 0-0 8; Eli Manna 3-5 2-2 8; Rodney Bennett 3-9 1-2 7; Robert Zotti 0-0 2-2 2; Aaron Jones 1-2 0-0 2; Wolf Jules 0-1 0-0 0; Perkins Pierribia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-71 28-33 99. Western Connecticut........... 41 49 - 90 UMass Boston.................. 45 54 - 99 3-point goals--Western Connecticut 5-15 (Jeff Cappa 2-6; Tyshawn Gillespie 2-2; Carlos Pellot 1-1; Dashon Jennings 0-2; Tony Peluso 0-3; Taeshon Johnson 0-1), UMass Boston 7-16 (Anthony Matlock 2-4; Tony Barros 2-7; Amigo Paniagua 2-2; A.J. Titus 1-1; Aaron Jones 0-1; Mark Doran 0-1). Fouled out--Western Connecticut-None, UMass Boston-None. Rebounds--Western Connecticut 37 (Tony Peluso 6; Carlos Pellot 6; Jamie Procino 6; Stephen Faulkner 6), UMass Boston 49 (Amigo Paniagua 13). Assists--Western Connecticut 14 (Dashon Jennings 3; Tony Peluso 3), UMass Boston 14 (Tony Barros 4). Total fouls--Western Connecticut 25, UMass Boston 22. Technical fouls--Western Connecticut-None, UMass Boston-None. A-200