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March 11, 2009 | AP Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Melquan Bolding had 23 points to lead five Duquesne players in double figures in the Dukes’ 91-81 victory over Massachusetts in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament Wednesday night.

Aaron Jackson added 18 points and seven assists for the Dukes (19-11), who advanced past the first round for just the second time in their last 13 trips to the A-10 tournament. Bolding contributed a career-high 13 rebounds.

No. 7 seed Duquesne will play second-seeded Rhode Island at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in a quarterfinal game.

Chris Lowe had 23 points and Anthony Gurley scored 22 for UMass (12-18), which has lost eight straight A-10 tournament games. Ricky Harris added 17 and Tony Gaffney had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Minutemen.

Duquesne, which led by as many as 19 points in the first half, broke open a tight game in the second half with an 11-2 run that was capped by Eric Evans’ four-point play that gave the Dukes a 73-66 lead with 5:22 left.

AP Photo

March 1, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA — Rodney Green and Darryl Partin each scored a career-high 30 points to lead La Salle past Massachusetts 97-88 on Sunday.

Ruben Guillandeaux added 14 points while Vernon Goodridge had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Explorers (16-12, 7-7 Atlantic-10), who set season highs in both points and 3-pointers (10).

Ricky Harris scored 20 points, all in the final 11:12, and Anthony Gurley also had 20 for the Minutemen (10-17, 5-9), who have dropped four of their last five. Chris Lowe added 15 points and nine assists and David Gibbs had 10 points.

La Salle led 46-29 at halftime and extended the margin to 26 points twice in the second half. A three-point play by Guillandeaux gave the Explorers a 72-46 lead with 11:21 remaining.

Massachusetts used runs of 11-2 and 11-3 to cut the margin to 84-75 on a layup by Lowe with 2:23 left. But the Explorers hit 13 of 14 free throws in the final 2:16 to seal the win, with Green going 6-for-6 and Partin 5-for-6.

February 25, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, Mass. – Bill Clark’s 22 points led five Duquesne players in double figures as the Dukes defeated Massachusetts 94-77 Wednesday night.

Duquesne (17-9, 8-5 Atlantic 10 Conference) finished the first half on a 15-4 run to take a 46-35 lead at the break. Massachusetts made a late surge and cut its deficit to 10 on a Gary Correia’s 3-pointer with just under six minutes left, but never got closer.

Damian Saunders added 18 points and seven rebounds for Duquesne, while Aaron Jackson had 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Eric Evans scored 14 points and Jason Duty had 10, rounding out double-digit scorers.

Anthony Gurley led Massachusetts (10-16, 5-8 A-10) with 18 points off the bench, Ricky Harris added 14 points and Matt Glass had 12.

The 94 points were the most Massachusetts surrendered this season. The Minutemen lost despite hitting 16 3-pointers, breaking their record for threes in a game.

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 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.

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.

December 20, 2008 | AP Press

AMHERST, MA – Luke Bonner returned to the Massachusetts lineup after missing seven games with a knee injury, scoring a career high 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds to help the Minutemen beat Hofstra, 97-81, on Saturday.

Massachusetts (4-6) tied a school record with 15 3-pointers, including five by Anthony Gurley, who led the team with 19 points.

Cornelius Vines led Hofstra (8-2) with 21 points, while Greg Washington added 13 points and seven rebounds. The loss snapped the Pride’s eight-game winning streak.

Massachusetts won despite being outrebounded 61-32 as the Pride had more offensive rebounds (36) than the Minutemen had total boards.

Massachusetts led 48-32 at halftime, but Vines hit a 3-pointer to get Hofstra within 13 at 48-32. But the Minutemen went on a 13-2 run and pulled away from there.

December 10, 2008 | AP Press

AMHERST, Mass. — Ricky Harris fired 23 points, including 17 in the second half, to lead Massachusetts to a 73-59 win over Holy Cross Wednesday night.

The Minutemen (2-6) trailed 32-29 at halfime but used a 12-0 run midway in the second half to stay on top for good.

Holy Cross, which has lost six of its last seven, fell to 3-7.

Tony Gaffney had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Anthony Gurley added 14 points for the Minutemen.

Harris had 5 points and Gaffney 4 in the uprising which ended with the Minutemen in front 53-45 with 11 minutes to play.

For Holy Cross, R.J. Evans led with 17 points, while Devin Brown scored 11 and Andrew Keister 10.