BOSTON, Mass. – With a game-high 20 points from Michael Campbell (Boston, Mass.), men's basketball, led by new head coach Jason Harris earned their first win of their 2015-16 season, as they defeated Suffolk University by the final of 72-61 Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 72, Suffolk University 61

UMass Boston (1-0, 0-0 Little East Conference)
Suffolk University (0-1, 0-0 Great Northeast Athletic Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Campbell's big day for the Beacons was fueled by 9-for-20 showing from the field, and a 2-for-3 showing at the charity stripe.  UMass Boston, which led for most of the second half, overcame a back-and-forth first half to secure coach Harris his first win as a collegiate head coach.  Harris took over the men's basketball program in June after longtime head coach Charlie Titus retired at the end of the 2014-15 season.

Harris' Beacons shot 40.0% from the field in Saturday's win, and held a 49-36 advantage on the glass over their crosstown rivals.  Off the bench Iser Barnes (Boston, Mass.) dropped in 12 points to help carry the Beacons to the win over their crosstown rival.

UMass Boston also took advantage of the Rams 16 turnovers, as they converted them to 19 points, as compared to the four that Suffolk scored off of UMB's 10 turnovers. 

Gabriel Pereira (Brockton, Mass.) was strong on the glass for the Beacons as he pulled down a career-high 15, nine of which came on the offensive side of the court.  Pereira also finished with nine points and had one blocked shots.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Saturday's win marked the first for the men's basketball program without head coach Charlie Titus on the bench, who retired after a historic and successful 40 year career
• Head coach Jason Harris is now just the second coach in program history to coach the men's basketball team at UMass Boston
• Campbell recorded 10 points in each half on his way to a game-high 20
• Saturday's win marked the second straight year that the Beacons opened a new season with a victory
• All-time UMass is now 19-8 when facing Suffolk

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will make their home debut on Tuesday when they host Salem State University at 7 p.m.