Like a back-up quarterback, Coleman came in unexpectedly and surprised everyone with his late-game heroics that saved the Minutemen.

With UMass trailing 53-47 with five minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the game, it was Coleman who put the Minutemen on his back, carrying them to the finish line. He drilled 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put life back into the Minutemen in a 60-56 win over Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon at Mullins Center.

The first of his two 3-pointers came when Trey Davis drove to the basket only to kick out to Coleman on the wing, who hit the wide-open shot to bring UMass within one possession. Coleman then had a steal on the ensuing defensive possession, but missed a transition dunk.

Donte Clark secured the offensive rebound, passed it to Davis, who once again found Coleman wide-open for a 3 that tied the game at 53.

“It was a great feeling. I was in the moment, and when I saw them I felt good when they left. So I wasn’t surprised with the result,” Coleman said.

“My confidence is through the roof. It was great to have the little opportunity and I think it was good for everyone else to see it from me as well,” he added.

Coleman scored all 13 of his points in the second half shooting 4-of-6 from the field, and 3-of-3 from the foul line. Coleman’s pair of 3’s were the only two the Minutemen made all game.

“To see Zach out there do what he did was really big for the team to let us know that he’s here and he’s ready to step up when another soldier’s down,” Davis said.

Coleman’s heroics didn’t come by coincidence – he was just opportunistic.

He re-entered the game with 9:15 remaining after Maxie Esho had picked up his fourth foul. At that point, Esho was UMass’ leading scoring with 18 points, and was the only player on the Minutemen scoring on a consistent basis. Jabarie Hinds was their second highest scorer at the time with six points.

“Up until that point I wasn’t really expecting to go in, and that’s just how it is. When he’s on a role, in the zone, he’s given that opportunity. He’s a senior that plays. I just need to be ready,” Coleman said.

“Right before I came out of the game I told him ‘Just hold it down.’ And he did exactly that. It was real good for him to do that,” Esho said.

Coleman’s next basket might not have been as big as his two 3-pointers, but it was awfully close. With 3:17 remaining, he then hit a fadeaway jump shot which his coach Derek Kellogg described as Kobe Bryant-esque to put the Minutemen ahead 57-53.

“Honestly in practice that’s the shot I make. That’s the shot I take when we do 1-on-1’s with the bigs so it’s in my arsenal, now everyone just got to see it,” Coleman said.

Rhode Island coach Danny Hurley called Coleman’s play the difference in the game.

“The difference was they had a freshman, when they were down six, step up and hit those two big threes and with the shot clock running down, the awkward-17 footer he threw in,”Hurley said.

Although Coleman will be the first to admit he’s not expecting this glory every time he steps onto the court on thing is certain: he’ll be ready when his name is called.

Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected], and can be followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.