WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team dropped its Little East Conference opener, 66-60, at the hands of the University of Massachusetts Boston Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium, sending the Warriors to their fifth straight loss – third in as many home games this year.

Eastern (1-7, 0-1 LEC) made a game of it in the first half and cut the lead to as few as three in the second half but was unable to overcome the veteran presence of UMass Boston (2-6, 1-0 LEC), which ended a six-game losing streak this year and a four-game losing streak at the hands of the Warriors at Geissler Gym.

Eastern came out of the gate hot, achieving an early six-point lead at 13-7 but the Beacons stormed back after the game's first media timeout and took a 14-13 lead, a lead in which they would not give up for the rest of the night.

The game ultimately came down to the poor three point and free throw shooting by the Warriors. From distance the Warriors shot a season-low 12.5 percent (3-24) including going 0-11 in the first half when they trailed by 11 at the break.

At the line,  the Warriors shot 68.8 percent to the Beacons' 77.8 percent. This continues a trend for Eastern this season, which as a team is shooting 65.8 percent from the line.

The Beacons were led by guards Emanuel Zayas, a junior, and senior Bobby Joy. Fourth in the LEC in scoring at 19.4 ppg., the 5-foot-7 inch Zayas led all players with 23 points (8-of-16 FG, 6-of-9 FT) to go along with four rebounds and three steals and only two turnovers in 37 minutes. In 39 minutes, Joy scored 17 points with seven rebounds and was clutch from the line, going 6-of-6  in the final two minutes (8-for-8 in the game) to seal the victory.

Entering the game with a -5 rebounding margin, Eastern grabbed a season-high 20 and outscored the Beacons (-8 this year in rebounding) on second-chance opportunities  by 12.

The bright spot for Eastern came in the form of 6-foot-4 inch sophomore Julian Sanchez (Willimantic). The 2013 Windham High School graduate shone in his first career game for the Warriors, scoring nine points in 15 minutes off the bench, with four rebounds with two three-pointers. Sanchez's first three was the team's first after 15 opening misses. His second three pulled Eastern to within three (48-45), the closest the deficit would be in the second half.

The Warriors only scorer in double figures was sophomore guard Dominick Dao (Terryville), with 17. Dao also added six rebounds and two assists in a team-high 36 minutes. Sophomore forward Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford) – the team scoring leader at 17.3 ppg. -- had just nine points (4-of-8 FG) and matched his season average with a game-high eight rebounds.

Eastern hosts the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Wednesday at 7 p.m.