And that’s your season.
Playing its first game following the death of former coach, color commentator and longtime supporter Jack Leaman, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team played inspired basketball, but couldn’t hold a nine-point second half lead in falling 79-76 to Duquesne in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Dayton, Ohio.
The Minutemen (10-19 4-13 A-10) conclude the season losers of three in a row and eight of nine, while the Dukes (12-16 7-10 A-10) have now won three in a row after losing five straight, and move on to face host Dayton tonight in the quarterfinal round.
Sophomore forward Rashaun Freeman’s inside basket with 10 seconds to play brought UMass to within two at 75-73, but a pair of Martin Osimani free throws pushed the Dukes lead back to four with 8.6 remaining in the contest.
Junior Brennan Martin then pulled the Minutemen to within a point at 77-76 with a deep a 3-pointer from the corner, and UMass again was able to foul Osimani on the inbounds pass.
The junior guard, having scored just two points in 31 minutes of play on the night, sank both free throws to give Duquesne a 79-76 lead with 1.8 left on the game clock. Jimmy Tricco then stole the ensuing inbounds pass to seal the win for coach Danny Nee’s squad.
Freeman, who was recently named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, tied a game-high with 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for UMass, while fellow A-10 All-Rookie Team selection Art Bowers matched Freeman’s output with 18 points of his own.
The Minutemen also received solid contributions from freshman guard Maurice Maxwell (16 points), as well as sophomore forward Jeff Viggiano (10 points).
Tricco, Elijiah Palmer and Jack Higgins all tossed in 14 points for Duquesne, and Kieron Achara and Bryant McAllister chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Maroon and White scored six points in a row to take a 71-67 lead at the 2:32 mark of the second half, but the Dukes evened the score on pair of free throws from McAllister and a Higgins baseline jumper.
McAllister then capitalized on a Minuteman miss when he converted a turnaround jumper in the paint at the 1:10 mark, giving Duquesne a 73-71 edge.
After the Maroon and White missed a 3-point attempt, McAllister was fouled hard in the backcourt by Viggiano and was slow to get up.
Helped to the bench with an apparent injury, McAllister was replaced at the free throw line by seldom-used reserve guard Tyler Bluemling, who proceeded to sink both free throws to push the Dukes’ lead to 75-71 with 32.2 seconds to play.
UMass concludes what was its third consecutive losing season under coach Steve Lappas, but with a talented core of promising young players, will look to the future in hopes of furthering what has been a painful rebuilding process.
The Minutemen will graduate only walk-on Paco Kotaridis, and should benefit from the return of center Gabe Lee. In addition, 2003 top-100 recruit and 3-point specialist Lawrence Carrier, a native of San Bernadino, Calif. will join the squad after sitting out a season under Proposition 48.
He will be joined by big men Jeff Salovski of Bristol, Conn. and
Oliver Lamareaux, a native of Canada.
Returning for the Minutemen will be all five starters, including All-Rookie honorees Freeman and Bowers, as well as captain Anthony Anderson.
