University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutemen Beat Team Nike 61-49
November 07, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2002
AMHERST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team placed three players in double figures en route to a 61-49 exhibition game victory over Team Nike Thursday night at the William D. Mullins Center.
The game was close for the first half, with the Minutemen taking a 22-20 halftime lead. Team Nike's Dave Ferguson tied the game at 22-all on a short jumper with 19:35 left in the game, but UMass used a 19-0 run to push the lead to 41-22 with 12:56 to play.
Senior forward Jackie Rogers (Syracuse, N.Y.), playing in his first game after sitting out the 2001-02 season as a redshirt, had eight points in UMass' second half run and finished with a team-high 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Massachusetts enjoyed its biggest lead of the game at 46-26 with 8:41 left in the game, and held a 51-35 lead with 4:18 to play.
Team Nike's Dedric Willoughby, though, scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the game's final 4:06 to make things interesting down the stretch. Willoughby's lay-up with 1:46 to play brought Team Nike within 53-49, and capped 14-2 run for the visitors.
But, UMass went 8-for-8 at the foul line in the game's final 1:07 to hold off its guests, and claim its fourth straight exhibition game victory, and its eighth in its last nine preseason tilts.
Senior center Micah Brand (Middletown. N.Y.) had 13 points, five rebounds and five steals for the Minutemen, while junior guard/forward Marcus Cox (Bridgeport, Conn.), a transfer from Connecticut and playing in his first game at UMass, had 12 points. The Atlantic 10's 2002 Rookie of the Year, Anthony Anderson (Lynn, Mass.), had a game-high seven assists and three points in 31 minutes of work.
UMass shot 36.2 percent from the field for the game, 15.4 percent from 3-point range, and 68.0 percent at the free throw line. The Minutemen held Team Nike to 34.0 percent field goal shooting, forced 22 turnovers and allowed their fewest points ever (49) in 32 all-time exhibition contests.
The Minutemen play their second and final exhibition game of the preseason against the Coaches vs. Cancer All-Stars on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m., in the Mullins Center, then open the 2002-03 regular season against 2002 NCAA runner-up Indiana in the first round of the 2002 EA Sports Maui Invitational, Nov. 25.
Team Nike fell to 0-3 on its 11-game road show and plays Saturday night at Rutgers.
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