Men’s Basketball Edges UMass-Boston in Non-Conference Nail-Biter, 79-78

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team posted a thrilling 79-78 victory over UMass-Boston Saturday afternoon at the Lahue Athletic Center.

The Lions improve to 6-6 on the season with the win while the Beacons sink to 4-5 overall.

Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) notched his second-straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) and Ozzy Traill (Valley Stream, N.Y.) each poured in 13 points. Corey McGhee (Alexandria, Va.) finished with 12 points while Levi Grady-White (Springfield, Mass.) tallied nine points and collected 16 boards.

The home team chalked up 10 unanswered points to establish a 23-15 lead with 8:09 left to play in the first half.

Eastern Nazarene extended its advantage to 32-23 with 4:13 to go in the period as McGuinness converted a pair of free throws.

The Lions clung to a 35-29 edge at the midway point of the contest after shooting 44.4% from the floor and 28.6% from three-point territory in the first frame. UMass-Boston owned a field-goal percentage of 35.3% and connected on 3-of-16 from beyond the arc at the break.

The visitors cut the deficit to 37-36 with 16:20 on the clock as Ike Eluwa sank a free throw.

Eastern Nazarene reclaimed a seven-point lead, 49-42, on a free throw by Grady-White with 11:43 left to play.

The Beacons knotted the score at 71-71 on a layup by Bryson Henry before seizing a 73-71 edge with 1:59 remaining in regulation as Stephen DiGregorio drained two free throws.

The hosts responded with back-to-back buckets by Grady-White and McGuinness to jump ahead 75-73 with less than a minute to go.

Eastern Nazarene stretched its margin to 77-73 on two free throws by Traill before UMass-Boston pulled to within one, 77-76, with 21 seconds on the clock as Charles Mitchell drilled a trey.

The guests snagged a 78-77 lead with 11 seconds left in the game as Emanuel Zayas came up with a steal and a layup.

The Lions answered with two free throws by Traill with eight seconds remaining to capture a one-point edge, 79-78.

UMass-Boston's last-second effort came up empty as Eastern Nazarene escaped with its first win over the Beacons since the 2014-15 season.

Charles Mitchell scored a game-best 24 points to pace the visitors' offense. Charlie Mitchell contributed 13 points, six steals, and five assists while DiGregorio added 12 points and five boards.

The Lions concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 40% while splashing 5-of-16 from long range. The Beacons shot 42% from the floor and 28.6% from behind the arc on the day.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene will start the 2022 portion of the campaign with a road tilt at Westfield State January 10.