Boston, Mass.--Senior forward Ben Vezele(Providence, RI) led the way for the Anchormen with a 22-point, 13-rebound, double-double, as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team defeated UMass Boston, 83-80, in little East action played at the Clark Athletic Center Gym on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS
Rhode Island College 83, UMass Boston 80
Rhode Island College (15-7, 8-5 LEC)
UMass Boston (13-9, 7-6 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The game opened up with UMB taking a seven-point, 9-2, lead. The Anchormen climbed back and gained the lead after a pair of Vezele free throws to take a 16-15 lead with 12:21 to play in the first half.

• The lead shifted sides four times before the end of the stanza, as the Beacons took a six-point, 40-34, lead into the halftime intermission.

• As the second half began, the Anchormen clawed their way back into the game when junior guard Keyshaun Jacobs (Lynn, MA) drilled a trey ball to cut the UMB lead down to just one, 52-51.

• UMB then went on a run and increased its lead to 10, 62-52, with 10:32 left to play in the second frame.

• RIC evened the score at 74 and went up by two, 76-74, on a pair of Vezele layups with 2:26 to go.

• Vezele converted two foul shots with 11 seconds to play and junior forward Tim Deng (Portland, ME) went 1-for-2 at the line with four seconds remaining to ice the game and give the Anchormen an 83-80 win for their eighth conference victory.

• Jacobs finished with 19 points and four rebounds. Freshman guard Shion Darby (Peekskill, NY) added 21 points, seven assists and grabbed four boards. Deng finished with 17 points and nine boards. Senior guard Jonatan Batista (Providence, RI) chipped in with four points, eight boards and dished out eight dimes.

• UMB senior center Mark Monroe (Quincy, MA) led the Beacons with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

BY THE NUMBERS
• RIC shot 45 percent (29-for-64) from the field, 36 percent (9-for-25) from three-point range and 70 percent (16-for-23) from the foul line.

• UMB shot 40 percent (30-for-76) from the field, 36 percent (6-for-23) from three-point territory and 67 percent (14-for-21) from the foul line.

• UMB held a slight advantage on the glass, 45-42.

• RIC outscored UMB in the paint, 28-26.

WHAT'S NEXT
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East play at home vs. Eastern Connecticut on Wednesday, Feb. 12 (7:30 p.m.).