Massachusetts held the lead for most of the game, but St. Joseph’s found a way to battle back to a 68-64 win.

February 4, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, MA — Ricky Harris scored a game-high 24 points as Massachusetts came on strong in the second half Wednesday for an 80-71 win over Richmond.

Harris was 7-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-8 on 3-pointers, as UMass (8-12, 3-4 Atlantic 10) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Richmond (11-11, 3-4 Atlantic 10) was led by David Gonzalvez and Kevin Anderson, both with 18 points.

The Minutemen led the entire second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Anthony Gurley and Harris got UMass ahead 71-59 with a little more than four minutes to play.

Chris Lowe added 13 points for UMass, bringing his career total to 1,012, and 10 assists. Tony Gaffney had 12 points.

UMass used a 10-0 run to take a 25-19 lead in the first half. The lead changed hands seven times, but a 3-pointer by Luke Bonner and a free throw by Lowe brought UMass to a 32-32 tie at intermisson.

January 31, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – Derrick Brown matched his career high with 23 points Saturday, and No. 10 Xavier used its balance and free-throw shooting to hold on for an 82-80 victory over Massachusetts, its 10th straight win.

B.J. Raymond added 22 points and C.J. Anderson had 19 for the Musketeers (19-2, 7-0), who remained unbeaten atop the Atlantic 10. This one was in doubt down to the final rebound. Anderson got that off Chris Lowe’s purposely missed free throw with 3 seconds left.

UMass (7-12, 2-4) set a pedal-to-the-metal pace on offense and kept it a game by forcing Xavier into a season-high 23 turnovers, but couldn’t break through in the closing minutes. Ricky Harris led the Minutemen with 17 points.

The shot clock rarely came into play in a fast-paced game of catch the ball and shoot — a pace that suits UMass but not the Musketeers. Brown, Raymond and Anderson were a combined 24-for-32 from the field, and made the biggest plays in the closing minutes.

The Minutemen stayed in the game by exploiting Xavier’s biggest weakness — a propensity for sloppy passes. UMass scored three straight baskets off turnovers early in the second half. Harris had a driving layup and a 3-pointer, and Lowe had a steal and layup that tied it at 58 with 11 minutes left.

There were three ties and six lead changes down the stretch, with neither team ahead by more than three points until the final minute. Raymond’s 3 and Anderson’s putback put Xavier ahead to stay, 78-74 with 53 seconds left.

Harris responded with a 3-pointer, then missed another one with 10 seconds to go. Raymond got the rebound and made both free throws for an 80-77 lead. Brown added two free throws.

Rather than let Lowe try to take a 3-pointer that would tie it, Xavier fouled him with 3 seconds left. He made the first and, after a timeout, missed the second, hoping UMass could get a tying putback. The ball was slapped around and Anderson came down with it.

The points piled up fast in the first half. UMass hit nine of its first 13 shots, while Xavier went 9-of-14. It didn’t take either team long to find an open shot and make it.

Xavier’s player with the can’t-miss touch temporarily took over the game.

Brown had a game this season when he didn’t miss, going 6-for-6 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in a win over Saint Louis on Jan. 8. He made his first eight shots on Saturday, including a 3-pointer that started Xavier’s nine-point run in the first half.

His three-point play off a driving dunk made it 41-31 with 2:52 left in the half, the biggest lead of the game. Xavier shot 68 percent in the first half against one of the conference’s worst perimeter defenses.

January 24, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, Mass. — Rodney Green scored 22 points and made clutch contributions in the second half to help La Salle to a 62-54 win over Massachusetts on Saturday.

The Explorers (11-7, 2-2 Atlantic 10 Conference) were clinging to a 51-50 lead when Green made back-to-back baskets to preserve the victory. Kimmani Barrett, with 11 points, was the only other double-figure scorer for La Salle.

La Salle led 34-28 at halftime.

UMass (7-ll, 2-3 A-10) was in front only three times, the last at 10-9 in the early minutes.

Tony Gaffney led the Minutemen with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Lowe added 10 points and three assists.

La Salle dominated the first half, leading by as many as 13 points (33-20) near the intermission.

January 21, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lamont Mack scored 23 points and Charlotte won its first Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season in a 69-64 overtime win against Massachusetts on Wednesday night.

Ian Andersen scored 13 for Charlotte (6-11, 1-3), including a 3-pointer that tied the game with 33.3 seconds left in regulation. He also hit four foul shots in overtime.

Ricky Harris scored 19 and Luke Bonner had 15 for Massachusetts, which saw its eight-point lead disappear in the final 5:30 of regulation. Anthony Gurley scored 10 for Massachusetts (7-10, 2-2).

Massachusetts regained control with a 18-0 run midway through the second half, taking the lead on David Gibbs’ drive at 43-42. Charlotte’s skid at the end of the second half began with a foul on Mack after a missed dunk by Tony Gaffney and a technical foul on coach Bobby Lutz.

January 17, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, MA – Ricky Harris scored 24 points, leading Massachusetts to a 79-75 win over Temple in an Atlanic 10 Conference game on Saturday.

Anthony Gurley added 16 points, Tony Gaffney scored 14 and Chris Lowe added 13 points, six rebounds and 11 assists as Massachusetts snapped Temple’s four-game winning streak.

Massachusetts (7-9, 1-1 Atlantic 10) trailed 37-33 at halftime.

UMass led once in the first half, 30-29 on a hoop by Lowe, with more than three minutes before the break. A three-pointer by Ryan Brooks gave the Owls (9-7, 1-1 A-10) their 37-33 margin at halftime.

Dionte Christmas, the Atlantic 10 scoring leader, led Temple with 28 points and 9 rebounds. Brooks had 17, while Lavoy Allen added 11 points and five assists for the Owls.

January 14, 2009 | AP Press

ST. LOUIS, MO – Tommie Liddell III had 14 points and nine rebounds and Kwamain Mitchell added 14 points to lead Saint Louis over Massachusetts 69-64 on Wednesday night.

Kevin Lisch added 13 points and Paul Eckerle scored 12, all from 3-point range, as the Billikens (10-6, 1-1 Atlantic 10 Conference) won their eighth straight home game.

Chris Lowe led UMass (6-9, 1-1) with 21 points. Ricky Harris added 18 points for the Minutemen, who’ve dropped three of their last four games.

Saint Louis trailed 31-27 at the half in a game that saw 17 lead changes. The Billikens hit just 33 percent of their field goals in the first half but improved to 58 percent in the second.

The Minutemen suffered at the foul line, hitting only 2-of-5 attempts.

January 10, 2009 | AP Press

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Ricky Harris scored a game-high 23 points as Massachusetts used a strong second half to beat Dayton, 75-62, in an Atlanic 10 Conference opener Saturday.

The Minutemen (6-8, 1-0 Atlantic 10) led by only two points at halftime but vaulted to a 24-9 edge in the first 10 minutes of the second half to take 59-42 lead. The Minutemen had a 15-0 run over 6:43 in the second half while Dayton went without a field goal over an 8:36 span.

The Flyers (14-2, 0-1 Atlantic 10) saw their six-game winning streak snapped.

The game was tied four times in the first half, the last time at 33. A hoop by Harris put the Minutemen on top 35-33 at the break.

January 3, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, Mass. — A.J. Ogilvy had 14 points and 8 rebounds as Vanderbilt blew things open in the second half and coasted to a 78-48 win over Massachusetts on Saturday.

Lance Goulbourne added 10 points and 8 rebounds, Jermaine Beal had 10 points and 6 assists, while Darshawn McClellan bagged 10 points to help Vanderbilt (11-3) to its fifth straight win.

The Commodores never trailed in the game, but were forced to cling to a 28-23 lead at halftime.

The tide started turning early in the second half when Vanderbilt strung together three straight 3-point hoops to push the Commodores’ lead to 41-27 with 15:54 to play.

The Commodores later were in front by as many at 34 points (72-38).

Chris Lowe had 14 points and 3 assists for Massachusetts (5-8). Ricky Harris added 12 points for the Minutemen, who were outrebounded, 48-28.

December 30, 2008 | AP Press

HOUSTON, TX — Qa’rraan Calhoun scored 26 points and Aubrey Coleman had a double-double to help Houston beat Massachusetts 80-54 on Tuesday.

Coleman scored 16 points and had 12 rebounds, and Kelvin Lewis added 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting for the Cougars (8-2). Calhoun hit four 3-pointers for Houston.

Anthony Gurley led Massachusetts (5-7) with 17 points. Ricky Harris added 11 and was the only other player in double figures for the Minutemen, whose four-game win streak ended.