Eastern (5-11, 1-6 little east) remains in last place in the conference by losing for the seventh time in as many games this year on its opponent’s court. The win, coupled with a loss by conference-leading Keene State College, forges a three-way tie for first place in the conference between Keene, UMass Boston (10-6, 5-2 little east) and Plymouth State University.
Trailing by 23, 78-57, Eastern outscored the Beacons 22-6 the rest of the way to cut the margin to the final spread of seven points. Johnson scored nine points in the run on three three-pointers and Richardson added eight, while sophomore guard Saliym Wilson chipped in five.
Johnson, who played 24 minutes off the bench, finished with a career and game-high 22 points, tying his career-high with six three-point field goals on 13 tries. Richardson contributed his first career double-double with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds while sophomore center Kevin Zalucki had 14 points (6-for-9 from the floor).
Led by Richardson (6-for-8), Eastern sank 17 of 21 free throws in the game but turned the ball over 26 times – one shy of this year’s season high.
UMass, which sweeps the regular-season series after being swept each of the last two years, had four players in double figures. Rodney Bennett had a team-high 20 points for UMass, James Hall adding 19. The pair combined to hit 15 of 24 fields goals. Tony Barros, who scored 18 points in the second half of the Beacons’ 76-72 win over Eastern Dec. 3, was limited to five points in 19 minutes.
Eastern hosts Western Connecticut State University Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.