A roaring crowd powered by Marcus Camby Day brought one of the most high-energy environments the Mullins Center has seen all season for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team in its 69-67 win against Saint Joseph’s.
“I told [the players] in the locker room after the game I was just really proud of how we responded just after Wednesday, after a challenging film session on Thursday, to positive attitudes yesterday in preparation,” UMass (11-12, 4-7 Atlantic 10) head coach Matt McCall said. “There’s things that didn’t go our way tonight, but to find a way to win that game, I was really proud of them.”
The game was tight the entire way and concluded with 21 lead changes. It was an intense, physical contest, but UMass star guard Noah Fernandes sunk a pair of game-winning free throws with just 1.8 seconds on the clock to avoid an overtime clash with the Hawks (10-13, 4-8 A-10).
As one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation, there have been questions about whether the Minutemen are too one-dimensional to pull out a win when the outside shot isn’t falling. On Saturday they did just that.
“I thought we had some really good looks that didn’t go down,” McCall said. “…I just kept saying ‘Guys I’m fine with the threes, the wide-open ones, but let’s try to get some pressure at the basket’.”
UMass got a fair share of open looks but shot just 28 percent from beyond the arc. Despite that it was able to score at the basket and at the free throw line, behind Michael Steadman’s performance and four players in double digits.
Steadman led the way with a game-high 19 points, including 11 of his team’s first 13 points. Fernandes secured the win with his free throws but did not have a good shooting night. He finished with 10 points on 2-for-7 from the field, doing most of his damage as a facilitator.
Fernandes dished out a game-high nine assists and had one turnover to his name. He was effective at drawing the opposing big men and slipping the ball to the gap it created behind them, giving his teammates easy layups.
Once again, UMass’ guard depth was one of its main strengths. With Fernandes, Rich and CJ Kelly all having bad shooting nights, T.J. Weeks was perhaps the best player on the court for the Minutemen. Weeks showcased strong decision making, ability to finish at the rim, rebounding and defense.
UMass didn’t look like the same team when Weeks was on the bench. When he checked out of the game for the first time, Saint Joseph’s immediately went on a 6-0 run. Weeks only took six shots, but finished with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, no turnovers and the highest plus-minus of the game at plus-10.
For the Hawks, guard Cameron Brown led the scoring department. He was a problem for the Minutemen throughout the game, especially with his 3-point shooting. Brown finished with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including 3-of-7 from deep.
Jordan Hall — St. Joe’s leader in points, assists and steals — followed Brown closely with 13 points, but complemented it with four rebounds and a team-high seven assists. According to McCall, part of UMass’ game plan was to stop Hall from getting into the lane.
The 6-foot-7 guard didn’t have his best shooting night but caused problems with his passing ability. Hall consistently found ways to draw UMass defenders then make the right pass, especially for open threes by his teammates, which kept the Hawks in the game when Steadman went on a run.
One of the most notable stats of the matchup was the free throw disparity. The Minutemen went to the line 19 times and converted 14 of them, while the Hawks only took three foul shots and made one.
“… The free throw margin is a huge margin in the game,” McCall said. “I think two stats that show me we’re playing with effort is the rebound margin … and then the free throw line, that’s a big effort stat. We’re putting pressure on the paint, we’re not settling for bombing shots.”
UMass will face St. Bonaventure on the road on Wednesday for its next game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Pedro Gray Soares can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @P_GraySoares
