What a difference a year makes.
Last year, just after the Thanksgiving break, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team traveled across the United States to Portland, Ore. to take on the University of Oregon. That day, a tired Minuteman squad was soundly beaten 91-76 by the Ducks. Now, 360 days later, UMass got its revenge.
The Minutemen (3-0) overcame an 11-point first half deficit to beat the high-octane, but clearly fatigued, Ducks 62-58 last night at the Springfield Civic Center. Shannon Crooks led the way for UMass with 13 points, but the win was a team effort in the truest sense. All nine Minutemen who played scored and eight of them registered a rebound, but, more importantly in the eyes of head coach Steve Lappas, they controlled the pace of the game.
“It’s all we talked about for three days, it’s all we talked in every timeout that we called. Keep the pace,” he said.
After scoring just two points in the first 38 minutes of action, Micah Brand came up big when it counted, making a tough lay up over Oregon’s Robert Johnson on the low block with 1:16 remaining to regain the lead for the Minutemen at 59-58 and then gave UMass a three-point cushion a minute later with a pair of free throws.
The Ducks (4-1) had a chance to tie the game on their final possession, but sophomore forward Luke Jackson threw an ill-advised pass in the direction of James Davis that Kitwana Rhymer easily corralled before being fouled. He proceeded to hit the front end of the one and one to seal the victory for the Minutemen.
Early on it did not look like the Minutemen would be able to stay close to Oregon, falling behind 11-3 in the game’s first four minutes. The Ducks, who came into the game averaging more than 90 points a contest, were off and running from the opening tip, scoring a number of easy buckets.
Oregon was able to keep a healthy lead in the game’s first 10 minutes before UMass went on an 11-3 run to cut a once 11-point lead down to three. In that run, Kyle Wilson scored the first points of his collegiate career with a three pointer from the wing while senior forward Eric Williams added a pair of three point field goals of his own.
“Coach told me to look for my shot more because I know I can score I’ve just been a little frustrated,” Williams said. “He told me to just go out there and play and if my shot opens up, shoot.”
“Eric Williams and Kyle Wilson got the game back to normal for us,” Lappas said. “Those two guys gave us the lift with those three three’s to get us going.”
Despite the run UMass trailed 32-31 as the teams headed into their locker rooms at halftime.
“I thought UMass did a good job of regaining their composure after the start of the game,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “We had them on the ropes with our running game and we took some tough shots, and they made us pay for taking those tough shots. They regained the momentum of the game in the first half and never really gave it up.”
The game would remain tight throughout the final 20 minutes with UMass forging ahead, but never able to build more than a four-point lead. With 5:12 left, the Ducks regained the lead on a Jackson jumpshot, to make the score 53-52. But from that point on, like it has for the majority of the season’s first three games, the UMass defense took over, allowing just one field goal the rest of the way.
With the score tied 54-54, Anthony Anderson hit a three-pointer, his only of the night, with 3:35 to go that put UMass ahead. That three was UMass’ seventh and final trifecta of the night, establishing a new season high.
For the third straight game, the contest’s outcome was up in the air until the final five minutes and, for the third time the Minutemen came out victorious.
“This shows that we are capable of playing with a big name team,” Crooks said. “We pulled it out late and that shows that we have a lot of heart on this team, a lot of character and a lot of heart.”
