P.J. Stanley/CollegianSnapping a three-game losing streak can give a team a sense of humor.
‘When Chris [Lowe] leaves I might slide over to point [guard] and lead the conference in assists,’ Ricky Harris joked after the
‘You guys are in trouble,’ Lowe added, shaking his head.
But for now, UMass (8-12, 3-4 Atlantic 10) likes Harris at shooting guard, especially when he has nights like Wednesday’s performance. Harris came out of the gates sluggishly, scoring just three points in the first half on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor and 0-of-1 from 3-point distance.
‘[Harris] was a little bit frustrated and flustered in the first half, and I told him ‘relax, just go play and it will come to you’,’ UMass coach Derek Kellogg said after the game.
Harris did just that as he shot 6-of-9 in the second half, 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and scored 21 more points to give him a game-high 24. Harris took over the game with the Minutemen up 54-49 with nine minutes left in regulation. Over the next 4 minutes, 23 seconds, UMass went on a 17-10 run, building a 12-point lead, in which Harris scored 13 of the Minutemen’s 17 points.
The junior guard shot 4-for-4 (3-for-3 from 3-point range) during the stretch, including 2-for-2 from the foul line. He also added two steals.
‘Ricky has done a good job of figuring out different ways to score other than just shooting all 3s,’ Kellogg said. ‘He’s put the ball down some, he’s getting to the lane and getting to the free-throw line. And once you start doing all those things then the 3s start falling.’
Harris wasn’t the only one who put up sub-par numbers in the first half. Tony Gaffney, who found himself in early foul trouble with two personal fouls in the first 5:05 of the game, sat out the final 15 minutes of the first half. At that point, the forward had no points, one rebound and one block.
Despite two of the team’s top three scorers managing just three combined points in the first half, the Minutemen found themselves knotted at 32 with the Spiders (11-11, 3-4 A-10) at the end of the first half.
‘I loved the way that Tyrell Lynch, Matt Glass, Gary Correia and David Gibbs played in the first half to keep us in the game,’ Kellogg said of his bench. ‘I thought those guys did a great job with Gaffney being in foul trouble and Ricky Harris not really clicking offensively.’
All four players to come of UMass’ bench contributed, especially in the first half, giving the Minutemen 13 points. With Gaffney’s presence missing down low, Lynch stepped up adding four points and five rebounds in 10 minutes in the first half.
The Spider’s were led by guards David Gonzalvez and last years Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Kevin Anderson. Both gave
Kellogg was impressed with the defense of Anthony Gurley who was asked to defend the tough Gonzalvez all night. Gurley played the Spider’s guard well, limiting him to just five points in the first half.
Snapping the team’s three-game losing streak wasn’t the only positive on the night; with 14:28 still remaining in the first half Lowe drove to the hoop with one of his signature moves ‘- dribble right then a spin move ‘- to beat his defender. When the shot fell, Lowe had registered his 1,000 and 1,001 career points in a UMass uniform.
Lowe became the 41st player in UMass history to accomplish the feat, joining Harris as the second player to reach the mark this season. The shot also made Lowe the first ever in UMass history to score 1,000 points and register 600 assists.
Lowe did all this on a night where he had his third double-double of the season, on 13 points and 10 assists. The 10 assists now gives him 610 for his career, 23 shy of tying Carl Smith’s career record of 633.
Jeffrey R. Larnard can be reached at [email protected].
