University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass To Face #2 Saint Joseph's
February 23, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2004
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Game Day Quick Facts
The Teams: Massachusetts (9-15, 3-9 A-10) vs. #2 Saint Joseph's (24-0, 13-0 A-10)
Date: February 25, 2004
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: William D. Mullins Memorial Center (9,493), Amherst, Mass.
UMass Radio Network: Bob Behler, play-by-play; Jack Leaman, color; WRNX 100.9 FM, Holyoke, flagship
UMass Student Radio: WMUA 91.1 FM, Amherst
Saint Joseph's Sports Network: Tom McCarthy, play-by-play; Joe Lunardi, color; WPEN 950 AM, Philadelphia, flagship
Series Record: Massachusetts leads, 25-21
Last Meeting: Saint Joseph's 92, Massachusetts 67 (January 20, 2004, Philadelphia, Pa.)
PROBABLE UMASS STARTERS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. F 11 Maurice Maxwell 6-5 175 Fr. F 22 Jeff Viggiano 6-6 215 So. C 1 Rashaun Freeman 6-9 255 So. G 12 Anthony Anderson 5-11 170 Sr. G 34 Art Bowers 6-4 190 Fr.
THE SERIES WITH SAINT JOSEPH'S: This will be the 47th meeting between UMass and Saint Joseph's, with the Minutemen leading the all-time series 25-21. The Hawks have won five straight meetings and six of the last seven, but prior to that UMass ran off six consecutive victories in the series. The Minutemen hold a 13-6 advantage against Saint Joseph's for games played in Amherst, including a 7-3 mark against the Hawks at the Mullins Center. UMass head coach Steve Lappas has a 4-7 career record against Saint Joseph's, but is 0-5 since moving to Amherst. Saint Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli stands 8-9 all-time against the Minutemen in his career.
MINUTEMEN LOOK FOR 100TH MULLINS VICTORY: When UMass takes on Saint Joseph's, it will be looking to post its 100th victory since moving into the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. The Minutemen are currently in their 12th season of play at the Mullins Center, posting an all-time record of 99-41 in the building, including a 7-6 at the Mullins Center so far this season. UMass was 8-6 in the Mullins Center last year, and has not had a losing record at home since moving into the new arena in 1992-1993. In fact, the Minutemen have gone 21 straight seasons without having a losing record on its home court. UMass also owns a 61-26 all-time record in regular season Atlantic 10 Conference games at the Mullins Center, and a 3-1 mark in Atlantic 10 Tournament contests. Here is a look at some of UMass' milestone victories in the Mullins Center:
Win Score Date 1 Massachusetts 64, West Virginia 59 (OT) Feb. 4, 1993 25 Massachusetts 59, Temple 58 Jan. 21, 1995 50 Massachusetts 79, George Washington 48 Jan. 10, 1998 75 Massachusetts 59, Xavier 49 Feb. 14, 2001
MAXWELL MAKING PRESENCE FELT: Freshman Maurice Maxwell (Philadelphia, Pa.) has turned into a key perimeter player for the Minutemen, while seeing action at both shooting guard and small forward. In Saturday's game at Fordham, he led the team with 15 points, while also recording three rebounds, three assists and three steals. In the previous game against Rhode Island, Maxwell totaled 17 points and three assists, while hitting six of 11 shots from the floor. In this season's first meeting with Rhode Island, he recorded 12 points and five rebounds, while hitting the game-winning three pointer with 25.6 seconds remaining. In the first meeting at Saint Joseph's, he totaled eight points, six rebounds and three assists. Earlier in the season against Marshall, Maxwell had a career-high 19 points, five steals and three assists, and was named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week and Dinn Brothers UMass Athlete of the Week. Maxwell had some other big games against Rider (career-high eight assists), Duquesne (eight points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals), Tennessee (12 points, four assists, three steals), Albany (10 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal), Vermont (14 points on five of seven shooting) and Boston College (10 points, four assists, three rebounds). For the season, he is now averaging 7.7 points, 2.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.
ANDERSON LEADS MINUTEMEN IN BACKCOURT: Senior guard Anthony Anderson (Lynn, Mass.) has been the leader on the court for a young UMass team this season. In last week's game against Rhode Island, he led the team with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and no turnovers. Previously, at Rider, he recorded 15 points and five assists in the UMass victory. In the win at Rhode Island, Anderson totaled 12 points, five assists and five steals, while hitting all four of his free throw attempts in the final two minutes to seal the win. On Dec. 7, Anderson was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and Dinn Brothers UMass Athlete of the Week, after a pair of outstanding performances against Boston College (20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals) and Vermont (career-best 29 points). Some of his other big games this season have come against Fordham (14 points, five rebounds, four assists), Temple (12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists), Saint Bonaventure (26 points, eight rebounds, three steals), La Salle (20 points, three steals), Tennessee (15 points, seven assists, five rebounds), Connecticut (15 points, four rebounds), Marshall (17 points, six assists) and Saint Francis (21 points, five rebounds, six assists). Through 24 games so far this year, Anderson is averaging 13.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists, while hitting 40.0 percent from three-point range and posting a 1.67:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
ANDERSON CLIMBS CAREER CHARTS: With his strong play during the 2003-2004 season, senior guard Anthony Anderson continues his assault on the all-time school records for three-point shooting. Against Fordham on Jan. 28, Anderson hit the 200th three-point shot of his UMass career, becoming only the fourth player in school history to accomplish the feat. He currently stands fourth on the school's all-time charts for three-pointers made (215) and three-point attempts (550), while ranking fifth in three-point percentage (.391). On track to earn a fourth season of competition by graduating by the summer of 2004, Anderson will have a chance to break Monty Mack's school record for three-pointers made (331), which was set from 1997-2001. Anderson, who also needs just 42 points to become the school's 36th career 1,000-point scorer, already owns two of the top 10 places on the UMass single-season chart for three-pointers made. In addition, he needs only 15 more assists this year to become the sixth player in school history to records 100 or more assists in three consecutive seasons (joining Charlton Clarke, Joe DiSarcina, Alex Eldridge, Derek Kellogg and Carl Smith).
FORDHAM RECAP: Forward Michael Haynes totaled 18 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots, to lead Fordham to a 75-61 victory over UMass at Rose Hill Gymnasium on Feb. 21, 2004. The game was close in the early going, with the Rams holding a 10-9 lead after five minutes of play. But Fordham scored the next seven points, igniting a 17-4 run. Following a three-point basket by forward Jeff Viggiano, the Rams scored 12 of the next 14 points, eventually taking a 39-20 lead into the locker room. UMass scored the first seven points of the second half to make it a 12-point game, but a 9-0 run by Fordham a few minutes later put the lead back to 21 points. The Rams were still up by 20 points with eight minutes remaining, before a 12-2 run by the Minutemen made the score 66-56. But UMass would get no closer, as Fordham hit nine of 13 free throws over the final four minutes to put the game away. Forward Maurice Maxwell led the Minutemen with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals, while forward Jeff Viggiano and guard Chris Chadwick scored 11 points each. Guard Drew Williamson scored 15 points on six of 10 shooting for Fordham, while guard Mark Breland added 14 points, five assists and four steals.
VIGGIANO PROVIDES A SPARK: Sophomore forward Jeff Viggiano (Suffield, Conn.) has been a key player for the Minutemen this year, while seeing time at both power forward and small forward. In Saturday's game at Fordham, he scored 11 points, while also collecting two rebounds and two assists. Previously against Rhode Island, Viggiano totaled 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. In the Dayton game, Viggiano posted his third double-double of the season with 11 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, while at Rider, he had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Some of Viggiano's other big games this season have come at Rhode Island (12 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks), against Fordham (11 points, three rebounds), against Temple (nine points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks), at Saint Joseph's (12 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals), at Duquesne (13 points, five rebounds and three blocks), at Connecticut (career-best 22 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals) and against Tennessee (eight points, five rebounds, two blocks). In 23 games played so far this year, including 20 starts, he has averaged 9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest. Last year, Viggiano averaged 7.0 point and 2.9 rebounds per game, while starting 21 out of 29 games.
BOWERS HAVING A FINE ROOKIE CAMPAIGN: Freshman guard Art Bowers (Wilmington, Del.) has turned into one of the team's top scorers in his first season with the Minutemen. At Xavier, Bowers scored a team-high 10 points, in addition to pulling down six rebounds. On Feb. 1, he was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week and the Dinn Brothers UMass Athlete of the Week, after a pair of strong performances against Rhode Island (18 points, four assists) and Fordham (18 points, eight assists, seven rebounds). Bowers also had a big game in the win over Temple, hitting the game-winning three-point shot with only 32 seconds remaining, to bring UMass back from a 65-63 deficit. He finished the Temple game with a career-high 19 points, to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Bowers turned in some other outstanding performances against Saint Joseph's (10 points, four rebounds, four assists), Albany (13 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals), Vermont (16 points on seven of 11 shooting, team-best seven rebounds) and Saint Francis (14 points on five of eight shots from the field). In the 22 games he has played this season, Bowers is averaging 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
THE LAST TIME: In the last meeting between the Minutemen and the Hawks, forward Pat Carroll scored 20 points while hitting six of seven three-point attempts, to lead Saint Joseph's to a 92-67 victory on Jan. 21, 2004, at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. The Hawks opened the game with a 15-0 run on five three-point baskets, including three from Carroll. Saint Joseph's extended its lead to as much as 32 points before the break, and eventually took a 50-23 advantage into the locker room. The Hawks hit 16 of 32 field goal attempts in the opening half, including nine of 18 from three-point range, while the Minutemen were able to hit only six of 28 field goals. After the intermission, the Saint Joseph's lead grew to 41 points with 14 minutes remaining. UMass was still down by 40 with six minutes left, before closing out the game on a 19-4 run. Forward Rashaun Freeman led the Minutemen with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and forward Jeff Viggiano also posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. UMass did have a good game on the glass, outrebounding Saint Joseph's 43-34. The Hawks finished the game 14 of 34 from three-point range, coming up just one trey shy of the record by a UMass opponent.
FREEMAN HAS IMPRESSIVE START TO CAREER: Sophomore forward Rashaun Freeman (Schenectady, N.Y.) has had some outstanding games to open his collegiate career, and has already been named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week five times this season (on Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 28, Jan. 11 and Jan. 25) and Dinn Brothers UMass Athlete of the Week once (Dec. 29). In last week's game against Rhode Island, he totaled 10 points and nine rebounds, while hitting eight of 12 free throw attempts. Previously in the Rider game, Freeman recorded team-highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. In the first meeting with Rhode Island, he totaled 13 points, four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots, while in the victory over Fordham, he led the team with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Freeman also had big games against Temple (16 points), Saint Joseph's (17 points, 12 rebounds), Duquesne (16 points, 13 rebounds), Saint Bonaventure (19 points, five rebounds), George Washington (19 points, 10 rebounds), Connecticut (15 points, three boards), Albany (22 points, 10 rebounds), Maine (23 points, six rebounds, three steals), Marshall (18 points, 10 rebounds, three steals), Central Connecticut (15 points, 13 boards), Hartford (19 points, nine rebounds), Texas Tech (17 points) and Saint Francis (11 points, 14 rebounds). Through 24 games this year, Freeman is averaging a team-best 14.1 points and 8.0 rebounds, while hitting 52.2 percent of his shots from the floor.
FREEMAN SELECTED ALL-DISTRICT: On Feb. 18, it was announced that sophomore forward Rashaun Freeman has been named to the 2003-2004 National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District I second team. Freeman was one of 13 players from the Atlantic 10 Conference to be honored on the teams, which were selected for 15 districts around the nation. The last UMass player to earn NABC All-District honors was Monty Mack, who was selected first team All-District in 1998-1999, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.
THE ROOKIES OF THE WEEK: The Minutemen have had a firm hold on Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week honors this season, with a UMass player taking home the award in seven out of 14 weeks on the year. Forward Rashaun Freeman has led the way by earning the honor five times (Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 28, Jan. 11 and Jan. 25), while guard Art Bowers (Feb. 1) and forward Maurice Maxwell (Dec. 21) have taken home the award once each. With three Rookie of the Week recipients this year, UMass has become just the fourth team in Atlantic 10 history to have three different players win the award in the same season. The previous three schools to accomplish the feat were Xavier (1995-1996), La Salle (2002-2003) and George Washington (2003-2004).
ANDERSON BECOMING AN IRON MAN: Senior guard Anthony Anderson has become a familiar sight on the hard wood, and earlier this season he had a streak of 157 straight minutes on the court (from the Hartford game on Nov. 24 to the Marshall contest on Dec. 23). He has played all 40 minutes 10 times this season (including a 45-minute stint in the overtime game at Boston College), while going the distance in six of UMass' last eight contests. For the season, Anderson has now played 909 out of a possible 945 minutes, good for an average of 37.9 minutes per game. This comes as nothing new to Anderson, who averaged 36.1 minutes per game last season, and 34.0 minutes per contest in 2001-2002.
LASME BECOMING A FACTOR: Freshman Stephane Lasme (Libreville, Gabon) has been a pleasant surprise for the Minutemen this season, while seeing action at both power forward and center. He had one of his best games against Dayton, scoring a career-high and team-best 13 points, while hitting six of eight shots from the field. Lasme also pulled down seven rebounds against the Flyers, in addition to posting a career-high six blocked shots. In the previous game at Rider, he totaled 12 points on five of six shooting, to go along with two rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist. Earlier in the season against Texas Tech, Lasme pulled down a career-best 13 rebounds, in addition to scoring six points and blocking four shots. Some of his other top games this season came at Xavier (four points, five rebounds, six blocked shots), against Marshall (five points, eight rebounds, five blocks) and at Fordham (six points, seven rebounds). Through 24 games this season, Lasme is averaging 3.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.
HEAD COACH Steve Lappas: Now in his third season as the head coach of the Minutemen, Steve Lappas has an overall record of 33-49 while at UMass. He owns a career mark of 263-221 in 16 seasons as a head coach, including nine years at Villanova (174-110) and four seasons at Manhattan (56-62). A 1977 graduate of the City College of New York, Lappas has led his teams to four NCAA Tournament appearances (with Villanova in 1994-1995, 1995-1996, 1996-1997 and 1998-1999) and four trips to the National Invitation Tournament (Manhattan in 1991-1992 and Villanova in 1993-1994, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001). In addition, his 1993-1994 Villanova team claimed the NIT championship. Lappas currently ranks 11th all-time in career coaching victories at UMass, needing only six more wins to move into eighth place.
MINUTEMEN ON TELEVISION: UMass will once again make a number of appearances on live television throughout the 2003-2004 regular season. Televised games so far this season have come on ESPN (Jan. 3 against Tennessee), ESPN2 (Nov. 21 at Texas Tech and Jan. 24 against Temple), the Atlantic 10 Television Network (Jan. 18 at Duquesne, Feb. 8 against Dayton and Feb. 14 at Xavier), New England Sports Network (Dec. 6 at Boston College), CN8 (Jan. 7 against La Salle), Cox-3 (Jan. 31 at Rhode Island) and ESPN Regional (Dec. 20 against Marshall). The Minutemen will have one more game carried as part of the Atlantic 10 Television Network package, at Richmond on Mar. 6. In addition, the Mar. 3 contest at Temple will be shown on CN8. So far this season, the Minutemen stand 3-7 in games shown on live television.
UMASS ON THE RADIO: All University of Massachusetts basketball games can be heard live on the UMass Basketball Radio Network, with WRNX 100.9 FM (Holyoke) serving as the flagship station. Bob Behler is in his fifth season as the play-by-play announcer, while former UMass head coach Jack Leaman is in his 10th year as color analyst. Here is the list of this week's affiliates on the UMass Basketball Radio Network: WCAP 980 AM (Lowell / Boston) and WATD 95.9 FM (Marshfield / Boston). In addition, WMUA 91.1 FM, the UMass student station, will carry a number of Minuteman basketball games during the 2003-2004 season.
THE UMASS BASKETBALL SHOW: Head coach Steve Lappas' weekly television show, "The UMass Basketball Show with Steve Lappas presented by Coca-Cola," airs on WGGB Channel 40 (ABC, Springfield) on Sundays at 11:30 p.m. The show will also be shown by WGGB on Sunday afternoons at 12:30 p.m. on weekends when UMass does not play a Sunday game, and on WLVI Channel 56 (Boston) on Sundays at 11:55 p.m.
THE COORS LIGHT COACH'S SHOW: Head coach Steve Lappas' weekly radio show, "The Coors Light Coach's Show with Steve Lappas," airs from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on WRNX 100.9 FM (Holyoke). The show, hosted by Bob Behler, runs throughout the season, and will next air on Monday, March 1. The show is taped at 11:45 a.m. from the Blue Wall Pub in Amherst, and is open to the general public.
BLOCK PARTY: Throughout the 2003-2004 season, the Minutemen have been the top team in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and among the best in the nation, at blocking shots. UMass currently has 139 blocks though 24 games, good for an average of 5.79 blocks per contest. The Minutemen stand far ahead of every other school in the Atlantic 10, as Richmond currently ranks second with an average of 4.50 blocks. In the latest NCAA statistics, through games of February 16, UMass stood 12th in the nation with 5.8 blocks per game. Leading the way for the Minutemen is freshman forward Stephane Lasme, who has totaled 47 blocks to rank second in the Atlantic 10 with an average of 2.0 blocks per game. Junior center Gabe Lee (Camilla, Ga.) was also enjoying a fine season with 45 blocked shots for an average of 3.2 blocks per game. He ranked first in the league and ninth in the nation, before suffering a season-ending injury at Saint Bonaventure on Jan. 14.
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Saint Joseph's enters the game with an overall record of 24-0 on the season, including a 13-0 mark against Atlantic 10 Conference foes. Ranked second in the nation in this week's Associated Press poll, the Hawks have outscored their opponents by an average of 17.5 points per game, and have won their last eight conference games by at least 12 points. Senior guard Jameer Nelson leads the team with an average of 20.0 points per game, in addition to averaging 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 3.2 steals per contest. Junior guard Delonte West ranks second on the team with an average of 18.9 points per game, while sophomore center Dwayne Jones averages a team-best 7.4 rebounds per contest.
SAINT JOSEPH'S HEAD COACH PHIL MARTELLI: Now in his ninth season with the Hawks, Phil Martelli owns a 173-97 record during his time at Saint Joseph's. Martelli has led the Hawks to three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and two trips to the National Invitation Tournament during his first eight seasons. Prior to his time as head coach, Martelli spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Joseph's from 1985-1995. Martelli is a 1976 graduate of Widener University, where he helped the team to NCAA Division III Tournament appearances during his junior and senior years.
MINUTEMATTERS: During last week's UMass-Rhode Island game, three-time first team All-Yankee Conference selection Al Skinner (No. 30, 1971-1974) became the fourth player in school history to have his number retired. The other three players to be honored are George "Trigger" Burke (No. 32, 1954-1956), Julius Erving (No. 32, 1969-1971) and Lou Roe (No. 15, 1991-1995) ... Junior guard Chris Chadwick (Union, N.J.) has scored in double figures twice in the last four games, with a career-high 12 points against Dayton, and 11 points at Fordham ... Former UMass stars Marcus Camby and Lou Roe were both selected to ESPN's Silver Anniversary All-Atlantic 10 Conference team ... Junior center Gabe Lee, who averaged 9.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks over the first 14 games of the season, is expected to miss the rest of the year due to injury ... Senior guard Marcus Cox (Bridgeport, Conn.) and sophomore forward Alassane Kouyate (Bamako, Mali) are also expected to miss the entire 2003-2004 season due to injury. Kouyate is eligible to redshirt and will have three years of collegiate eligibility remaining, while Cox's college career is now over ... Massachusetts has made at least one three-point field goal in 175 consecutive games and in 550 of 557 games it has played since the arc was added to the college game in 1986-1987 ... UMass has won 29 of its last 31 games when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field, including this year's 5-0 mark and an 11-2 record in Steve Lappas' tenure in Amherst ... Former UMass head coach Jack Leaman, who currently provides color commentary for the UMass Radio Network, was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame last September. Leaman compiled an overall record of 217-126 in his 13 seasons at UMass, while winning eight Yankee Conference titles.
