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

Minutemen upset Temple, fall to Bonnies in A-10 semifinals

Jeff Bernstein/Collegian

Despite entering Atlantic City, N.J., as the lowest of eight seeds, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team finished just one game shy of the Atlantic 10 championship game.

However, the Minutemen fell in a semifinal game to eventual tournament champion St. Bonaventure, 84-80.

The Bonnies were led by forward Demetrius Conger, who nearly posted a triple-double, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Forward Andrew Nicholson chipped in 19 points.

UMass overcame a 16-point second-half deficit and had an opportunity to take the lead in the waning moments of the game.

“I was proud of the team and the way they continued to fight and claw and try to come away with the win,” said UMass coach Derek Kellogg. “We never totally got the game into our flow until the last, like, six, seven minutes of the game, where it was a little more up and down.”

With six minutes, 52 seconds remaining, the Minutemen found themselves in a 72-56 hole, following a pair of free throws by Nicholson.

“This game meant a lot to us,” said sophomore guard Chaz Williams. “So when it got down to six minutes, we had our backs against the wall and we were ready to play.”

UMass fought back, as it cut SBU’s lead to six with less than two minutes remaining. A pair of free throws by Jesse Morgan (13 points), and a layup by Raphiael Putney made the score 77-75 with 1:38 left.

Conger responded with three free throws over the next 38 seconds to push the Bonnies’ lead back to five. But another layup by Putney reestablished the deficit at three with a free throw just seconds later.

With less than 30 seconds left, the Minutemen generated a steal and Williams was fouled as he attacked the basket.

He made both free throws and the Bonnies made just one on the other end. The Minutemen then controlled the ball with 14 seconds remaining, down 82-80. Williams (12 points) advanced the ball into the front court, stopped his dribble and sent a pass to Morgan, who then found Terrell Vinson (20 points) at the top of the 3-point circle.

Vinson shot faked, and when a SBU defender converged on him, he whipped a pass to Putney.

“They did a good job of rotating and [Vinson] hit [Putney], and I yelled at him to shoot it,” said Kellogg.

The lengthy sophomore released his potential game-winning 3-point attempt with five seconds remaining in the game. The ball floated through the air, and looked on target, according to Vinson.

“The ball was in the air for a long time, but I thought it was down when it left his hands,” said Vinson.

However, it clanked off the back rim and flew high into the air. When it came down, Matthew Wright was there to grab the rebound and was fouled by Farrell with under two seconds left.

“We were a small bounce [away] from winning the game,” said Kellogg.

Wright made both free throws and secured the Bonnies’ first trip to the A-10 title game since 2000.

Maxie Esho had one of his best games of the season, as he scored 16 points – 14 in the first half – and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench.

Minutemen upset Temple

On Friday, in the opening game of the A-10 tournament, UMass used big games from its backcourt to shock then-No. 21 Temple, 77-71.

Jesse Morgan scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, and hit two clutch free throws down the stretch to ensure UMass’ victory. Williams chipped in 20 points and also added to the cause with his work from the charity stripe.

With a three-point lead, Morgan and Williams went 5-for-6 over the last 40 seconds and eliminated any possibility of a Temple comeback.

Due to first half foul trouble for Morgan and Vinson, the Minutemen trailed Temple, 36-31, after the first half, but they flipped the tables on the Owls in a matter of minutes.

UMass scored 15 straight points to open up the half and turned a five-point deficit into a 10-point lead in the first four minutes, four seconds of the second half.

Temple responded behind the efforts of Ramone Moore, Khalif Wyatt and Juan Fernandez, who each hit big shots in the second half to reestablish a four-point lead for the Owls with about eight minutes left in the game.

However, Morgan and Williams pulled UMass back into control of the game, and iced the contest over the final stretch from the free throw line.

The duo were the only UMass players to reach double figures, while Wyatt (15 points), Moore (14 points), Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson (13 points) and Fernandez (12 points) all accomplished the feat for Temple.

Jackson Alexander can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Alexander.

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