The Beacons outscored the Huskies 14-7 in overtime to earn the win and improve their overall record to 11-6 overall and 6-2 in the LEC. The loss is the fourth straight for Southern Maine to drop to 9-9 overall and 3-5 overall.
Trailing by a point, 85-84, with 2:13 remaining in overtime following a pair of free throws from USM senior forward Jesse McKinnell (Manomet, Mass./Scituate), Paniagua gave the Beacons the lead for good converting a lay-up off of an assist from senior guard Eric Bateman (Glassboro, N.J./CCVTS).
Junior forward Tony Barros (Dorchester, Mass./Saint Sebastian’s) pushed the Beacon lead to three, 88-85, with 1:42 to play making a lay-up off of another assist from Bateman. Southern Maine cut the lead back to a point following a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Walter Phillips (Portland, Maine/Bridgton Academy), but Paniagua made one of two free throws and then grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the put-back to give the Beacons a four-point cushion, 91-87, with 26 seconds on the clock. Southern Maine misfired on its final two shots of the game and Barros made a free throw and Paniagua notched a lay-up for the 94-87 final.
After trailing 42-36 at the break, Southern Maine forced the overtime action, rallying in the second half. Behind 80-77 with nine seconds to play, Phillips drained his second three-pointer of the night to knot the score up at 80-80 as the buzzer sounded.
Barros led all scorers, posting a double-double for UMass Boston, with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds. Paniagua collected his 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field while grabbing eight rebounds, and freshman center Rodney Bennett (Boston, Mass./Newton North) came off of the bench to score 17 points and haul down nine rebounds for the Beacons. Senior forwards Charles Yuan (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Classical) and James Hall (Jacksonville, Fla./Brunswick (GA)) added 12 and 10 points respectively.
McKinnell led four Southern Maine players in double-figures with a double-double on 19 points and 15 rebounds – both career highs – on 8-for-13 shooting, while Phillips notched 17 points and nine assists for the Huskies. Senior forward Bill Hardwick (Boothbay, Maine/Boothbay Region) added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman guard Charlie O’Neill (Seymour, Conn./Wamogo) netted a career-high 13 points off of the bench.
UMass Boston finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field (34-for-68) including a 5-for-8 mark in the overtime period (65.2 percent). The Huskies shot a solid 48.4 percent (31-for-64) from the field, but were just 1-for-7 in the overtime period.
Southern Maine returns to action at home on Saturday (Jan. 28) against LEC rival Eastern Connecticut State University for a 3 p.m. start. UMass Boston plays again on the same day on the road against Wesstern Connecticut State. Tip-off is schedule for 3 p.m.