Pipkins Scores Career-High As UMass Shoots Past Niagara, 101-76

AMHERST, Mass. – Sophomore guard Luwane Pipkins scored a career-high 34 points as UMass connected on 15 3-pointers in a 101-76 win over Niagara on Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen (2-1 Overall) shot 15-26 from behind the arc as four different players hit from behind the line, led by Pipkins 7-10 performance on a night where UMass scored 100 points for the first time since a 2016 overtime win at Duquesne.

Pipkins' scoring output gave him his fourth 20-plus scoring game of his career and 20^th double-digit scoring game while he recorded his second straight 20-plus game after scoring 23 at Harvard last weekend.

The deep ball was a key factor in building a lead for UMass in the opening minutes, using three long balls to cap off a 16-2 run that saw the Minutemen grab a 16-6 lead over the Purple Eagles (1-2 Overall). UMass hit four 3-pointers on five of eight through the first six minutes of play as the lead stretched to 11 at 19-8 after a Chris Baldwin triple with 12:06 left in the first half.

Freshman Carl Pierre pitched in a career-high scoring day of his own, scoring 16 points on 6-10 shooting while knocking down a pair of 3-pointers that helped UMass build the early lead. UMass shot 9-15 from deep in the opening 20 minutes and shot 54.8-percent from the field in the first half and 59.4-percent on the game.

Pipkins helped open up a UMass scoring run to end the first half, connecting on back-to-back triples before hitting a layup to pitch in eight straight points prior to a Unique McLean layup and C.J. Anderson free throws with 34-seconds left in the half that capped off a 9-0 run and put the Minutemen up 46-28. Anderson dished out a team-leading eight assists on the day while adding nine points and five boards.

UMass continued to extend their lead gradually throughout the final 20 minutes of play, stretching their advantage to 25 points after a Rashaan Holloway layup off an Anderson assist with 12:55 left to play. Holloway added six rebounds while scoring eight points in the contest.

Niagara cut the lead back down under 20 points on a Chris Barton layup with 9:49 left to play before a Pipkins and-one the following possession brought the lead back to 20 points as UMass eventually built their biggest lead of the season as they went up 27 at 89-62 with under five minutes to play.

Matt Scott led the Purple Eagles with scoring as he scored 26 points while Kahlil Dukes added 16 for a Niagara squad that knocked down just four 3-pointers on a day when they shot 45-percent from the field.

Rayshawn Miller was one of three Minutemen to reach double-digit scoring as he dropped in 16 points on five of eight shooting with three 3-pointers to go along with three assists.

UMass will remain at home as they wrap up a two-game homestand against Western Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Mullins Center before heading to Brooklyn, N.Y. for the Barclays Center Classic on Nov. 24-25 to take on Minnesota and BYU.

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Pipkins Scores Career-High As UMass Shoots Past Niagara, 101-76

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Team Stats

Luwane Pipkins

Carl Pierre

Rayshawn Miller

C.J. Anderson

Players Mentioned

C.J. Anderson

Chris Baldwin

Rashaan Holloway

Unique McLean

Rayshawn Miller

Carl Pierre

Luwane Pipkins

Players Mentioned

C.J. Anderson

Chris Baldwin

Rashaan Holloway

Unique McLean

Rayshawn Miller

Carl Pierre

Luwane Pipkins

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics