The NCAA Division III Tournament teams will be announced on Sunday, February 26 at 10:00 p.m. and the bracket will be released on Monday, February 27 at 8:00 a.m. UMass Boston will play a first round NCAA Tournament game this week with the site, date and time to be determined.
UMass Boston led for the final 36:06 of play and owned a double-digit lead for almost all of the second half to cruise to the victory.
Matt Hickey and Sean Sullivan each knocked down consecutive three-pointers to open the game for Keene State and give it a 6-0 lead, but the Beacons answered with six straight points of their own to tie the contest at 6-6 with 17:12 showing in the first half. Kevin Ritter converted a lay-up at 16:34 to give the Owls an 8-6 lead, but it would be their last advantage as UMass Boston scored five straight points to take a 13-8 lead with 15:08 left in the first half.
The Beacons maintained a 28-25 lead with 7:04 to go in the opening half, before going on a 14-6 run to take a 42-31 advantage with 1:12 left in the first half. UMass Boston took a 44-35 lead into the intermission.
The Beacons built their lead to 57-40 with 14:36 remaining in the game, on the heels of a 13-5 run to open the second half. UMass Boston owned a 73-58 lead with 3:09 showing in the second stanza, before Keene State netted six straight points to pull to within 73-64 with 57 seconds to play, but it would be as close as it would get.
Paniagua finished 8-13 from the floor and added four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophomore point guard A.J. Titus (Roxbury, MA) netted a career-high 16 points on 5-7 from the floor and was named the Little East Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He also added four rebounds, two assists and a steal, while junior swingman Tony Barros (Dorchester, MA) contributed with 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Nick Drouin led four players in double-figures for the Owls with 13 points in addition to four rebounds and a steal in just 10 minutes of action off the bench. Sullivan dropped in 12 points and added seven rebounds and two assists, while Tyler Kathan netted 11 points, grabbed four boards and dished for three assists.
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UMass Boston vs KEENE STATE COLLEGE 2/25/06 3:00 pm at Keene NH/Spaulding Gym At Keene NH/Spaulding Gym UMASS BOSTON 81, KEENE STATE COLLEGE 67 UMASS BOSTON (18-10) Amigo Paniagua 8-13 2-3 19; A.J. Titus 5-7 5-5 16; Tony Barros 4-12 3-5 13; Rodney Bennett 4-6 1-2 9; Charles Yuan 4-4 0-0 8; Eric T. Bateman 2-9 4-4 8; James L. Hall 1-4 4-4 6; Mark Doran 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 29-59 19-23 81. KEENE STATE COLLEGE (20-7) Nick Drouin 5-7 1-2 13; Matt Hickey 4-12 0-0 12; Sean Sullivan 2-8 7-8 12; Tyler Kathan 3-11 5-6 11; Carl Slate 3-8 0-0 9; Stanley Chamblain 1-2 1-2 3; Nate Anderson 1-2 1-1 3; Kevin Ritter 1-2 0-0 2; Ben Maynard 0-3 2-4 2; Adam Gervais 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 17-23 67. UMass Boston.................. 44 37 - 81 KEENE STATE COLLEGE........... 35 32 - 67 3-point goals-UMass Boston 4-11 (Tony Barros 2-6; A.J. Titus 1-1; Amigo Paniagua 1-2; James L. Hall 0-2), KEENE STATE COLLEGE 10-28 (Matt Hickey 4-10; Carl Slate 3-8; Nick Drouin 2-3; Sean Sullivan 1-3; Tyler Kathan 0-4). Fouled out--UMass Boston-Rodney Bennett; Mark Doran, KEENE STATE COLLEGE-Ben Maynard. Rebounds-UMass Boston 30 (Tony Barros 8), KEENE STATE COLLEGE 39 (Ben Maynard 11). Assists-UMass Boston 7 (Amigo Paniagua 3), KEENE STATE COLLEGE 17 (Matt Hickey 4). Total fouls-UMass Boston 24, KEENE STATE COLLEGE 19. A-1500 #2 UMass-Boston captures LEC title.