Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

From shock to awe: UM comes back to top Rider 77-67

It doesn’t matter who you are, 20 points is a big halftime deficit. But for a young team trying to come into its own that only put up 24 first half points, it’s a colossal one.    

So when Freddie Riley sank one of his six 3-pointers on the night to tie the score at 55-55, the Mullins Center crowd that started heading home in the first half started going insane.

Luckily for the home crowd, the team that went into the locker room after the first half was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the game. UMass almost doubled its first half output, outscoring Rider, 53-22, in the second half, including a 40-9 run, en route to a 77-67 victory.

“I was 37-years-old when the game started, and I think I’m 45 now,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “I said to the team, I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed in the first half… And then, after some great halftime adjustments of let’s play hard and compete, that I’ve never been so proud of a team that they never gave in, [they had] wherewithal to keep on playing.”

Riley, after a frost-bitten 1-for-5 shooting performance from behind the arc, became the Human Torch off the bench, tearing away at the double-digit second half lead with a flurry of second half treys. Riley was 4-for-6 in the second half and finished with a career-high 26 points on the night. The sophomore guard logged 28 minutes in the game off the bench.

“I just don’t think about missing,” Riley said about his shooting. “I just feel like every shot I put up is going to go in.”

Riley was the spark, but senior Anthony Gurley was the closer, putting UMass up 57-55 at the seven minute, six second mark. Gurley, the one glimmer of hope in the first half, was solid in the second, putting up 19 of his game-high 31 points in the last 15 minutes, including his 1000th career point, right as the Minutemen took the lead.

For much of the second half, both Gurley and Riley had more second half points than the entire Rider side. The duo combined for 59 of UMass’ 77 points.

“It was like night and day,” Gurley said of the difference between the halves. “The feeling at halftime was pretty crappy. I mean, we dug ourselves into a big hole. The feeling after the game? I was very proud. I was very proud to be a part of this team. I was proud of the way that we fought back. I think that shows that we’re very resilient.”

Just as key as Gurley and Riley’s contributions though, was the defense. After giving up 45 first half points, the Minutemen surrendered just 10 second half points by the time they had tied the game.

“The defense wasn’t nearly as good as it was in the second half,” Gurley said. “I thought that anyone that checked into the game in the second half just fed off the intensity of everyone on the floor.”

The turnovers and untimely fouls which tripped up the Minutemen in the opening half began to befuddle the Broncs. After scoring 40 seconds into the half, Rider remained scoreless until a Justin Robinson jumper at the 13:44 mark.

The second half momentum seemed to be swinging when Gurley converted an and-one and Gary Correia made a diving steal before calling timeout to give the Mullins Center crowd its first big spark of the night.

Minutes later, when Sampson Carter drove to the lane, missed and scored on his own rebound, UMass had brought the score within nine and the crowd back into the game.

Riley’s comic book-hero half keyed the comeback, as his 3-pointers in the second half helped spark the rally, none more important than the one at the 7:41 mark which tied the game.

In addition to Riley’s contributions off of the bench was redshirt sophomore Matt Hill, who was brought in to help shut down Rider’s Mike Ringgold, who was a key part of the Broncs’ big first half. Hill only showed up in the score sheet with three rebounds, but Kellogg sang his praises after the game for his role in the comeback.

Well, that happened

A combination of clunky play by the Minutemen and sharp execution out of the gates for the Broncs dictated a bleak first half for the Minutemen. Of course, Rider going 7-for-14 from the 3-point line didn’t hurt them either.

UMass scored the opening points of the season, but from there, stumbled out of the gate to the tune of an 8-0 Broncs’ run. The run quickly turned into a 17-6 lead, as the Minutemen went 2-for-7 from the floor and failed to slow down a Broncs attack which seemed two gears ahead as the teams hit the floor.

“We were just getting outplayed. We knew that, too,” Gurley said. “We had to step our level of intensity up in the second half and just come out and play better defense as well.”

UMass’ shooting woes were only compounded by early turnovers leading to a slew of fast break points for the Broncs. Rider scored 11 points off turnovers in the first half while UMass struggled to jumpstart its offense out of the half court.

The Broncs worked the Minutemen in the paint early on, out-rebounding them, 21-13, with a 14-8 edge in points scored inside. Senior forward Mike Ringgold led the way on the scoreboard and the glass with 13 points and seven boards in the first half.

Gurley was the only bright spot early on. After an initial stumble by the offense to an 8-2 deficit, Gurley scored the next 11 point to bring it back to 20-17 with 9:15 left before fading out, along with the rest of the offense. The Minutemen scored only seven points for the rest of the opening half.

 Nick O’Malley can be reached at [email protected]

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