Boston, Mass.-Senior guard Eric Alleyne (Watertown, MA) led a quartet of Anchormen in double figures, scoring a game-high 21, as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team topped UMass Boston, 89-63, in Little East Conference action at Clark Athletic Gym on Saturday afternoon.
The Anchormen (8-3, 1-1 LEC) jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, capped by a three-pointer from senior forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, NY) with 17:10 remaining in first half. UMass Boston (7-3, 0-2 LEC) responded with six straight points of its own, capped by a three from senior forward Carl Joseph (Brockton, MA) with 16:00 minutes left to give UMB the, 6-5, lead.
The Beacons increased their lead to five, 24-19, when senior forward Steven McGuire (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) buried a three-pointer off a feed from junior guard Layo Medina (Brockton, MA) with 7:07 left to play in the first half. The Anchormen battled back down the stretch and a three-pointer by Alleyne followed by a layup by freshman guard Roosevelt Shider (Meriden, CT) in the final minute of the half cut the UMB advantage down to one, 39-38, entering the locker room.
The Anchormen shot 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from the field in the first half, while the Beacons shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30). Alleyne scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half on 4-for-7 shooting from the field and shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
A dunk by sophomore forward Terrance Tribble (White Plains, NY) with 18:10 remaining in the second half capped a 6-2 run by the Anchormen to take a 44-41 lead. Burton nailed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to up the Anchormen by 14, 64-50, with 9:31 left to play. The Anchormen buckled down on the defensive end and a layup by freshman forward Brian Renauld (Albany, NY) with 54 seconds left capped a 25-13 RIC run down the stretch to take the 26-point, 89-63 victory.
The Anchormen were led by Alleyne's 21 points and six assists, while Burton scored 19 points and added six boards. Freshman guard Jerelle Washington (Providence, RI) (13 points) and senior center Victor Smith (Providence, RI) (14 points) rounded out the Anchormen in double figures. RIC shot a sizzling 60.7 percent (34-for-56) from the field, an astounding 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from long range and 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the foul line.
Joseph, who scored his 1,000th career point late in the second half, scored 11 points for the Beacons, while junior forward Karl Agenor (Dorchester, MA) led the Beacons with 13 points. For the game, UMB shot 48.2 percent (27-for-56) from the field, 35.3 percent (6-for-17) from three-point range and 75.0 percent (3-for-4) from the free throw line.
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will play at Tufts on Thursday, Jan. 11 (7 p.m.).