Raleigh, N.C.- Most young teams usually struggle when forced to deal with a series of distractions. The Massachusetts men’s basketball team however proved the contrary on Saturday afternoon as it went down to Tobacco Road and knocked off a strong North Carolina State squad 69-62.
There were more than enough distractions all weekend long to derail the young Minutemen, but they persevered and did not let it all overtake them. They followed the lead of their seniors, notably Shannon Crooks at the offensive end and Kitwana Rhymer at the other, and came out on top.
The problems started for UMass before they even arrived in Raleigh with sophomore swingman Jameel Pugh missing the team bus to the airport and its flight, thus being left behind in Amherst. Pugh, who has only played four minutes this season, is trying to work his way into the Maroon and White’s regular rotation, a goal made all that more difficult by this latest faux pas.
Pugh’s absence however was not the only pre-game distraction for the Minutemen. Sophomore Anthony Anderson did not start at point guard for the first time since UMass’ season opener against Arkansas-Little Rock after violating an undisclosed team rule. This was the second time this season that Lappas was forced to discipline the Lynn, Mass. native. Anderson missed the Maroon and White’s first preseason game against the BABC All-Stars while serving a one-game suspension because of a team rule violation.
Despite coming off the bench Anderson made up for his mistake the best way possible, by playing a key role in the UMass victory. He scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out a team-high four assists while only turning the ball over twice in 29 minutes against the Wolfpack full court press.
That press was the major obstacle for the Minutemen to overcome once they stepped on the court. N.C. State had utilized its press in each of its first six games, but never had it sustained that pressure for all 40 minutes like they did on Saturday.
“We knew they would to press us, but didn’t know they were gonna come with it the whole game,” UMass head coach Steve Lappas said. “They didn’t play that way against anybody. They were relentless with it.”
That relentless pressure helped cause a season-high 20 turnovers, 13 in the first half, for the Minutemen and led to 17 points off turnovers for N.C. State. But it also led a number of bad fouls that, in the end, proved to be the undoing of the Wolfpack.
UMass made 15 of its 20 free throws, all of which came in the second half. Crooks was the only UMass player to miss from the charity stripe all day long, making just 3 of 8 on the afternoon. Not only did the free throws give UMass 15 extra points, it helped the Minutemen catch a quick breather, something that was necessary for a number of players who logged large numbers of minutes.
“I think we got fatigued a little bit at times,” Lappas said. “We had some guys out there for a lot of minutes, Shannon with 35 minutes, Micah Brand with 36 minutes. But we got a heck of a lift from our bench, I was very happy with that.”
The final distraction that UMass was forced to overcome was the raucous crowd of 10,801 inside the Entertainment ‘ Sports Arena. This was the first time that UMass had played in a hostile environment in this young season and the young squad adequately handled the crowd and the noise.
“We just kept our composure, the guys just didn’t show like they were scared,” Crooks said.
The Minutemen opened the game on a 14-7 run to help take the crowd out of the game and never really let them get back into it. Even when the Wolfpack forged ahead early in the second half, the crowd never seemed to affect the Minutemen, as they were able to regain the lead and eventually hold on for the victory.
“I’m really proud of our guys, they way they compete, the way they play, the get after it,” Lappas added. “I didn’t know what to expect coming on the road but it doesn’t seem like a whole lot fazes these guys. They’re fun to coach.”
