Men's Basketball 1/29/2020 12:00:00 AM

Roberts' Free Throws Seal Husky Comeback: USM 80, UMass Boston 78

Box Score

GORHAM, Maine – Senior Jaire Roberts (Warrenton, Va.) hit a pair of free throws in the final second of regulation to complete a double-digit comeback as the University of Southern Maine Huskies rallied to defeat the UMass Boston Beacons 80-78 in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Wednesday night at Hill Gymnasium.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 8-10 overall and 3-8 in the Little East. USM has split the season series with the Beacons 1-1. UMass Boston falls to 12-7 with the loss and 6-4 in the LEC.

Roberts led all scorers with 21 points as part of a monster double-double collecting 19 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards, and six assists. Senior Derek Haney (Auburn, Calif./Placer) and Keenan Hendricks (Owls Head, Maine) each had 12 oints for USM, while sophomore Jacobe Thomas (Houston, Texas/Davis) and junior Kylani Lafleur (Portsmouth, N.H.) had 11 and 10 points each. Lafleur had eight rebounds.

Four players scored in double-digits for UMB. Dasan Cinelli had 19 points and eight rebounds, while Charles Mitchell added 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Mark Munroe came off of the bench for 17 points, nine rebounds and a pair of steals, while Michael Boyd had 14 points and a game-high eight assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Shooting 51.4 percent (19-for-37) from the field in the first half, UMass Boston led Southern Maine 48-35 at the halftime break. Three Beacons were in double-digits at the break led by 13 points from Cinelli, 12 from Mitchell and 10 from Munroe.
UMB's Boyd, who hit a buzzer beater to close out the first half, scored back-to-back buckets to open the second and give his team their largest lead of the game, 52-35, with 18:09 to play in regulation.
The Beacons stayed in front by double-digits and led 56-43 following a layup from Munroe with 14-10 to play before the Huskies started their comeback. After Munroe's bucket, the Huskies outscored UMB 12-2 over the next three minutes to make it a one-possession game, 58-55. Henricks scored five of his 11 in the run, including the three to make it a three-point game.
Both teams went back and forth over the next few possessions with the Beacons maintaining a lead. Cinelli kept UMB up, 63-60 in a layup at the 7:28 mark before back-to-back scores from Roberts (an offensive rebound and a putback and a three) gave USM its first lead since the opening five minutes of the game, 65-63 with 6:25 left in regulation.
Back-to-back threes from UMB's Tommy Burris and Mitchell regained the lead in the Beacons' favor and the game settled into a back-and-forth contest. In the final five minutes of play the score was tied four times and the lead exchanged hands five.
A layup from Roberts followed by a three from Haney gave USM a 73-70 lead with 1:50 on the clock, but Mitchell came up big with a three of his own and an and-one to put UMB up 74-73 on its next possession.
USM countered with four consecutive points on a tough baseline jumper from Haney and a lay-in from freshman Cameron Wood for a 77-74 lead with 31 seconds on the clock, but UMB clawed its way even again on a calm display of free throw shooting from Cinelli. Put on the line twice in the final 25 seconds, Cinelli went 4-for-4 and made it a 78-78 game with four seconds left on the clock.
In their final possession, the Huskies put the ball in the hands of Roberts, and he was fouled driving to the basket. Sent to the free throw line with .03 on the clock, Roberts connected on both to give his team the victory. Roberts finished the game 4-for-4 from the line.