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

UMass basketball outlasts La Salle 71-65

Photo by Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian
Photo by Cade Belisle/Daily Collegian

PHILADELPHIA — The Massachusetts men’s basketball team needed one more stop to secure its first Atlantic 10 Conference victory of the season.

The Minutemen made the stop, then added another for good measure.

Leading 71-65 with 30 seconds left, La Salle’s leading scorer Jordan Price took aim from behind the 3-point line, but his shot was partially deflected by UMass guard Derrick Gordon. The ball fell into the hands of Explorers forward Jerrell Wright who attempted a layup, and again, UMass blocked came up with a block, courtesy of Cady Lalanne.

It was La Salle’s final opportunity to make a run at the Minutemen, who earned their first road victory of the season 71-65 Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena.

“I knew he was getting the ball so I went right in lockdown mode,” Gordon said of Price. “My job was to make sure that, if he was going to get a shot off, to make it as hard as possible.

UMass (8-7, 1-1 A-10) held La Salle to 25-of-64 (39.1 percent) shooting and held Price and Wright – La Salle’s top two offensive threats – to 17 combined points. The Minutemen dictated tempo of play and substituted within the lineup more frequently than usual.

The result was a bounce-back victory after a disappointing start to conference play last Saturday in a 69-55 loss to St. Bonaventure.

“It means a lot,” said forward Maxie Esho, who finished with a game-high 19 points.

“Coach (Kellogg) made a big impression on us getting back to playing our style of basketball which we haven’t been playing the last couple of games.”

“I think we have to be a pace team,” Kellogg said. “We have to play with a little more pace and push tempo and try to get the game moving some.”

Over the first 20 minutes, the Minutemen played a familiar brand of basketball.

Kellogg inserted freshman forward Donte Clark into the starting lineup and moved guard Jabarie Hinds back to his role as the first player off the bench which appeared to provide a spark.

UMass extended its full court defense more extensively than in recent game and received a return on its investment, forcing six turnovers in the first half while extending its lead to as high as 30-20 in the first half.

Kellogg also relied on reserves such as Tyler Bergantino, C.J. Anderson, Zach Coleman and Demetrius Dyson to play more minutes. Every player tallied at least 11 minutes, while Anderson played 28.

“I thought it was pretty good,” Kellogg said of the new lineup. “We weren’t down 7-0 today which was nice … I loved the way some of my younger guys played today. I’ll probably stick with that starting lineup but I’m not going to be afraid to play and sub and get guys in and out quickly.

Foul trouble at the end of the first half – three UMass forwards had at least two fouls – forced Kellogg to play a four-guard lineup and La Salle (8-7, 0-2 A-10) closed the gap, ending the half on a 8-2 run. UMass took a 34-32 lead into halftime.

It set up for a tightly contested second half.

Neither team led by more than four points until UMass took a 65-60 lead with three minutes, 27 seconds left. Twice, the Minutemen extended their lead to four points – once on a Hinds layup to lead 47-43 and once on a Zach Coleman 3-pointer to lead 57-53 – but the Explorers responded.

But Esho hit a layup to make it 63-60, UMass forced Wright into a miss and Gordon snaked around a defender to hit a layup to go up 65-50. Esho hit two free throws with 1:45 remaining to provide a 67-61 lead which firmly put UMass in control.

“I’m really proud of the team to come out with that kind of effort on the road,” Kellogg said.

Esho was UMass’ go-to option offensively and also led the team with 12 rebounds, while Gordon finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Hinds and guard Trey Davis each added nine points.

Cleon Roberts led the Explorers with 17 points. Center Steve Zack chipped in 16 points, while Price finished with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting and Wright finished with five points on 1-of-12 shooting.

UMass also shared the ball more effectively against La Salle, assisting on 15 made baskets. It was an encouraging performance for a team still trying to find its bearings this season.

“When we play our basketball, I feel like we can play with everybody,” Esho said.

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.

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