Men’s Basketball Falls at UMass Boston, 74-60, to Wrap 2016 Action

BOSTON – The Suffolk men's basketball team capped off 2016 action Tuesday night at UMass Boston where the Beacons used a strong second half to upstage the Rams, 74-60, at the Clark Athletic Center. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 60, UMass Boston 74
RECORDS:  Suffolk (2-8) | UMass Boston (7-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk played neck-and-neck with UMass over the first 20 minutes and trailed by just one, 32-31, at half time. 

The Rams continued their push out of intermission and took the lead on a good triple from Jim Djema with 16:33 on the clock. The trey was apart of a 10-0 run for Suffolk, which featured five points from Steven DiPrizio and gave the blue and gold a 42-36 cushion under the 15 minute mark. 

Boston responded with a spurt of its own, 7-1, which locked the score at 43-all with 12:31 to go in the second stanza. The score would tie twice more and Suffolk would hang onto its lead with just under nine to play as Djema put away a pair of freebies. 

The lead was soon relinquished, however, as the Beacons rolled on an 11-0 stretch to go ahead by eight, 59-51. UMass maintained its advantage down the stretch to secure the 74-60 victory. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• DiPrizio was the main ingredient to Suffolk's comeback on both ends of the court, supplying 17 points and 11 rebounds, including nine on the defensive end. The sophomore forward shot 7-for-16 from the floor and added two blocks and two handouts. 
• Michael Hagopian registered 15 points on a 6-for-15 showing from the field. He tallied three rebounds, two assists and one block to his effort. 
• Djema rounded out the Rams in double figures with 13, going 4-for-9 from the floor, 3-for-8 beyond the arc and a percent 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. The sophomore also added two handouts, one board and one takeaway. 
• Suffolk shot 42.1 percent on the day (24-57) and an impressive 85.7 percent (6-7) at the line. Where the Rams faltered was from long range, going just 6-for-24 for 25.0 percent.
• UMass Boston held the upper hand in rebounds, 38-32, and capitalized on Suffolk's 19 turnovers, turning them into 28 points.
  

NOTEABLES

• DiPrizio put together his third double-double of the season and third of his career. 

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk takes a break for finals and the holidays and will be back in action at home Thursday, Jan. 5 when the Rams welcome crosstown and GNAC rival Emmanuel to Regan Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. tip-off.