BOSTON, Mass. – Led by Luc Ulysse's (Brooklyn, N.Y.) game-high 22 points and eight assists, men's basketball earned a huge Little East Conference win as they defeated the Owls of Keene State College by the final of 96-72 Sunday afternoon in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

With the victory, UMass ends a 10-game skid to the Owls, with the win marking the Beacons first since 2009, when they earned an 85-78 decision on their home floor.  UMass improves to 10-8 on the year, 2-5 in the Little East Conference.  For the Owls, they dropped to 13-4 overall, 4-3 in the LEC.

Ulysse, who had been missing from the Beacons line-up for the last couple of weeks, made his return count in a big way.  The senior was non-stop all afternoon, as he carried the Beacons to perhaps their biggest conference win in the last few seasons.  As a team the Beacons were red-hot all afternoon as they finished off the Owls shooting over 52% from the floor (38-72). 

Defensively, UMass controlled the Owls from start to finish, forcing 19 turnovers, while holding them to just 38.8% shooting from the field (31-80) and 11.1% from 3-point range (2-18).

After an early back-and-forth exchange between the two teams, the Beacons grabbed control of the momentum at the 8:03 mark when they went on a huge 14-2 run.  Senior Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.), who finished with 19 points in the win, helped spark the run, while junior forward Karl Agenor (Dorchester, Mass.) dominated inside to keep the Beacons firing on all cylinders. 

It was not until the 3:28 mark that the Owls were able to record their first field goal in the nearly five minute window.  However that basket did little to faze the Beacons as they dropped in five straight points to make it 41-29.  Agenor put-up another hard fought lay-up, while Steven McGuire (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) drained a long-range 3-pointer.

The Beacons would record the final six points of the half, four from Ulysse and two from Gregory Young (Dorchester, Mass.) to go into the break with a 47-29 lead. 

UMass would continue to pound the ball inside, while also hitting some huge jumpers to maintain a substantial lead over their conference rivals in the second. 

Less than five minutes in, the Beacons extended their lead to 19 points, following a lay-up from Young.  The Dorchester native closed out the big conference victory with 20 points and had eight boards, five assists, three blocks, and two steals.

UMass would continue to run past the Owls as time continued to count down.  The Beacons showcased an unselfish style of basketball as they handed out eight of their 11 assists.  Their defense was just as solid forcing 11 turnovers by the Owls, which they turned into 10 points.  The Beacons also dominated the paint in the final 20 minutes scoring 32 of their 49 points. 

Young and Ulysse did a majority of the work on the scoreboard combing for 23 points respectively, while Agenor continued to dominate the glass as he battled the Owls' 7'0" junior center Nate Howard to earn eight of his game-high 16 rebounds.  The Dorchester native also dropped in 11 points to earn the games only double-double.

Also finishing in double-figures in the conference win was Omar Benabicha (Saugus, Mass.), who finished 5-for-13 from the floor for 12 points.  Selim Omerovic (Saugus, Mass.) also had a strong game for the Beacons as he finished with seven points, and two blocked shots in just 16 minutes of action.

For the Owls they were led by Tom Doyle's 18 points.  Howard finished second on the team with 15, followed by Dizel Wright who had 12 in the loss.  They were however held way under their season and conference leading average of 86.1 points per game.  The Owls did win the glass as they outrebounded the Beacons 48-45.  Howard and Doyle each finished with a pair of blocked shots, with Howard also grabbing a team-best nine rebounds.

The Beacons return to action on Tuesday when they host the University of Southern Maine at 7:30 p.m.