Providence, R.I.--The Rhode Island College men's basketball team suffered a 52-46 setback against UMass Boston in a Little East Conference contest played at The Murray Center on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore forward Benjamin Vezele (Providence, RI) led the way for RIC (9-11, 3-7 LEC), recording a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Senior forward Domonique Bull (Worcester, MA) added 13 points and six boards.

UMass Boston (11-10, 4-6 LEC) was paced by senior center Sam Freeman (Boston, MA) with 21 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Sam Powers (Westwood, MA) notched six points and pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds.

The two teams battled back and forth during the opening stages with the score tied 6-6 with 15:06 left in the first half. UMass Boston then used a 16-6 run, capped by a jumper from Freeman, to take its largest lead of the first half, 22-12, with 1:07 remaining in the stanza. The Beacons took a 22-15 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. RIC shot just 15.6 percent (5-of-32) from the field in the first half with UMass Boston holding a 28-23 advantage in rebounding.

RIC climbed back to within one point early in the second half when a three-pointer by freshman guard Jonatan Batista (Providence, RI) made the score 26-25 with 17:08 left in the contest. The Beacons then used a 15-6 run, capped by a jumper from junior guard Iser Barnes (Boston, MA), to make the score 41-31 with 8:35 remaining. RIC closed the gap to just four points several times down the stretch, but couldn't get any closer as UMass Boston held on for the victory.  

RIC shot 23.9 percent (16-of-67) from the field, 11.1 percent (3-for-27) from behind the three-point stripe and 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the free throw line. UMass Boston shot 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field, 11.1 percent (1-of-9) from three-point land and 60.0 percent (9-for-15) from the free throw line. UMass Boston outrebounded RIC by a 59-40 margin for the contest.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference play at home against UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday, Feb. 8 (7:30 p.m.).