Men’s Basketball Knocks Off UMass-Boston, 77-66

QUINCY, Mass.- First-year head coach Aaron Loredo collected his first career victory as he guided the Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team to a 77-66 win over UMass-Boston Friday evening at the Lahue Athletic Center.

THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 77, UMass-Boston 66
Records: Lions (1-1) | Beacons (0-1)

                                   
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Eastern Nazarene scored seven of the first nine points of the game to grab a 7-2 edge with 16:44 remaining.
• The two teams traded buckets in the final four minutes of the opening frame as the Lions held a narrow 30-28 lead at the half.
• Eastern Nazarene poured in seven unanswered points to gain a 57-51 advantage with 5:08 remaining in regulation.
• The Lions widened their lead to double-digits with 3:58 left to play as Khabri Davis (Peoria, Ariz.) splashed a corner trey, 65-53.
• The home team converted 5-of-6 attempts from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal its first victory of the season.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:        

• Darrell Hardge (Hialeah, Fla.) paced the Lions with 20 points while adding four steals, four rebounds, and three assists.
• Martinie Kamga (Yaounde, Cameroon) netted 14 points and grabbed eight boards off the bench.
• Elijah Melchiorre (Katy, Texas) scored 12 points while Sammuel Prosper (Hyde Park, Mass.) added 10 points and six rebounds.
• Eastern Nazarene finished the game with a 44.3% field-goal percentage while draining 6-of-29 from behind the arc.
• UMass-Boston shot 43.6% from the floor and 23.5% from three-point range on the night.
• Emanuel Zayas poured in a game-best 22 points to go with seven assists while Ish Fofana tallied 11 points off the bench.

                                                                                    
LOOKING AHEAD:
Eastern Nazarene travels to Fisher November 14.