University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutemen Head To #11 BC For In-State Clash
December 31, 2005 | Men's Basketball
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UMASS (5-4) vs. #11 BOSTON COLLEGE (10-2)
Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 • 7:00 P.M.
Conte Forum (8,606), Chestnut Hill, Mass.
TV: NESN (Eric Frede, Ron Perry, Jayme Parker)
Radio: WRNX (100.9 FM - Flagship)
WCRN (830 AM), WATD (95.9 FM)
Minutemen Head To #13 BC For In-State Clash
• UMass heads across the state for the annual Commonwealth Classic against No. 11 Boston College on Tuesday night at Conte Forum at 7 p.m.. The game will be televised live on NESN with Eric Frede, Ron Perry and Jayme Parker calling the action. It is the third consecutive UMass game televised in a stretch where 10 of 11 Minuteman games will be on TV.
• The games will be carried on the UMass Sports Network on 100.9 FM in Western Massachusetts and 830 AM and 95.9 FM in the Eastern portion of the state. Bob Behler and Kevin Kennedy call the action for UMass. Boston College's broadcast airs on WEEI (850 AM). Gametracker will be available on UMassAthletics.com and BCEagles.com.
• The Minutemen come into the game with a 5-4 record after finishing as the runner-up at the Panasonic Holiday Festival in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 27-28. UMass defeated St. Peter's, 66-49 in the semifinals before falling to host St. John's 51-49 in the championship game. Juniors Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme were named to the All-Tournament team. Lasme had his greatest game as a collegian with a career-high 21 points, career-high 14 rebounds and eight blocks against St. Peter's. He also had a game-high 15 points vs. the Red Storm along with five rebounds and four blocks. Lasme is third in the nation in blocked shots with 4.8 per game as UMass leads the nation in team blocked shots per game (9.2). Freeman totalled 19 points and 14 rebounds in the two games. Freeman is third in the A-10 in rebounding (9.1) and field goal percentage (54.1). He became the 37th UMass player to score 1,000 career points in the St. Peter's game on Dec. 27. He has 1,015 points entering the BC game.
• UMass opens its Atlantic 10 conference season at Duquesne on Saturday at 2 p.m., in a game that will be televised on the A-10 Network including NESN in the New England region. The game with Boston College is the penultimate non-conference game for the Minutemen this season as they face Florida State on Feb. 12, in a nationally-televised game on Fox Sports Net.
• Led by UMass Hall of Famer Al Skinner, Boston College is 10-2 and ranked No. 11 in the nation in its first season in the ACC. The Eagles are facing their second consecutive Atlantic 10 team as they defeated Rhode Island, 78-56, on Saturday. The Eagles feature four double-figure scorers led by Jared Dudley and Craig Smith. Boston College has won four games in a row after back-to-back losses to ranked teams Michigan State and Maryland.
Skinner Faces His Alma Mater
• Last season, BC coach and UMass grad Al Skinner coached at the Mullins Center since for the first time since his No. 30 was retired on Feb. 18, 2004. All-time against his alma mater, Skinner is 8-21, but has won his last six meetings, all at BC since 1999. He had little luck against UMass early on going 2-21 in his tenure at Rhode Island and his first few season with Boston College.
• Skinner starred at UMass in the early 70s as he was named first-team All-Yankee Conference three times (1972-74. He was also an all-district selection in those seasons. In his career, Skinner scored 1,235 points which ranks 16th all-time. He led the then-Redmen to a pair of Yankee Conference titles. Following his UMass career, Skinner went on play professionally in both the ABA and NBA, with the New York Nets, Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers. He began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Rhode Island, before taking over at Boston College in 1997.
• It was apropos, that during the UMass-Rhode Island game on Feb. 18, 2004, Skinner (No. 30, 1971-74) 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, 1954-56), Julius Erving (No. 32, 1969-71) and Lou Roe (No. 15, 1991-95)
UMass-BC Series
• The Eagles hold a 21-17 advantage in the all-time series with the Minutemen, which began in the 1905-06 season. Boston College has won the last six meetings between the schools, but prior to that UMass had posted six straight wins in the series. Since the teams resumed playing each other -- as the Commonwealth Classic -- on an annual basis during the 1995-96 season, BC leads the series, 6-5.
• For games played on the Boston College campus, the Eagles hold an 8-3 advantage with a 2-1 mark at the Conte Forum. The schools have also played nine times at either the Boston Garden or the TD BankNorth Garden, with UMass leading 6-3 in those contest. Boston College has won all three games played at Mullins, winning in 2000, 2002 and in 2005.
• The two programs first a century ago with the Minutemen winning the first game 20-15 on Dec. 8, 1905 in Drill Hall. The two teams did not play again until the 1950-51 season, but met regularly since then with the exception of the 1980-94 seasons. In that time, they played once on Dec. 29, 1990 in the Abdow's Classic in Springfield, Mass.
• The last game in Chestnut Hill came on Dec. 6, 2003, playing following a major snowstorm in Boston, Craig Smith hit two free throws with 14.6 seconds left, lifting Boston College to a 76-75 overtime win over UMass in the annual Commonwealth Classic. Smith, who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, missed a pair of free throws late in regulation that could have given BC a five-point lead with just over a minute left. Anthony Anderson paced the Minutemen with 20 points.
Against Ranked Teams
• UMass has won two of its last three games against ranked teams beating No. 7 UConn (61-59 on Dec. 9, 2004) and No. 21 George Washington (76-74 in OT on Jan. 15, 2005) last season. UMass lost to No. 3 UConn this season, 78-60 on Dec. 8. Prior to the two wins last season, UMass had lost seven in a row against ranked teams. In both wins over ranked teams junior All-Atlantic 10 postman Rashaun Freeman hit the game-winning shot, beating UConn with 4.3 seconds left and topping the Colonials with a lay-up with 0.4 left in overtime.
• UMass last played a ranked Boston College team, which was No. 13, on Dec. 8, 2001, an 80-78 Eagles' win at Conte Forum. The Minutemen least beat a ranked BC team on Jan. 18, 1997, when they downed then-No. 19 BC, 90-78.
Against The ACC
• UMass takes on the newest member of the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference, Boston College. The Minutemen have fared very well against what many consider to be the top basketball conference in the nation with a 35-36 all-time record against current teams in the league. They are 17-21 against BC, but have winning records against Florida State (3-1), Georgia Tech (1-0), Maryland (4-2), NC State (3-0), Virginia Tech (5-2).
• UMass last beat a team from the ACC, last season, when they beat Florida State, 78-68 on Feb. 15, 2005 at the Mullins Center.
LAST MEETING: Boston College 67, UMass 48
AMHERST, Mass. - Boston College's Craig Smith scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field to lead the Eagles past UMass, 67-48, in the annual Commonwealth Classic in the Mullins Center. After a poor shooting first half, UMass cut a 15-point deficit to just five with 11:32 remaining in the game but were not able to hold on for the comeback.
With the win, Boston College, ranked sixth nationally in the RPI, improved to a perfect 11-0 on the season. Rashaun Freeman led UMass with 13 points and six rebounds. In his first game back from a three-game suspension, guard Anthony Anderson scored 10 points, including two pivotal three-pointers, and added three rebounds.
A fastbreak dunk by Sean Marshall, part of his 12 points for the game, gave Boston College a 15-point lead just four minutes into the second half.
A 13-3 UMass run capped by an Anderson three-pointer at the 11:32 mark cut the lead to 42-37. Freshman Jeff Salovski and Freeman combined for eight of those points.
Boston College, however, proved too much holding UMass (6-4) to just two points in the final 6:17 of the game. The Eagles closed the game on a 25-9 run after UMass had cut the lead to five.
BC shot 50.9 percent for the game, while UMass hit just 31.0 percent. The Eagles held a 46-18 margin for points in the paint and turned 14 Minuteman turnovers into 14 points.
UMass shot just 24.2 percent in the first half falling behind 30-22 at the intermission. Lawrence Carrier's three-pointer at the 10:40 mark pulled the Minutemen to within two points of the Eagles, 11-9.
Boston College strung together a 17-8 run before Art Bowers and Brennan Martin canned consecutive treys cutting the BC lead to 28-20.
Each team traded lay-ups in the final 15 seconds of the first half giving the 30-22 Boston College lead.
The game was the 150th UMass men's game at the Mullins Center with the Minutemen holding a 106-44 record in those games.
UMass Thumbnail
• The Minutemen come into the Boston College game at 5-4 overall, having won four of their last six games. Prior to the tough loss to St. John's in the Panasonic Holiday Festival, 51-49, on Dec. 28, UMass had won three games in a row beating St. Peter's (66-49 on Dec. 27); Siena (78-60 on Dec. 23) and Boston University (64-45 on Dec. 12). Rashaun Freeman leads UMass in scoring (15.3), rebounding (9.1) and field goal percentage (54.1). Stephane Lasme is second in scoring (9.8) and rebounding (6.9). He leads the Atlantic 10 and is third in the nation in blocked shots per game (4.8).
• Stephane Lasme had the best game of his career against St. Peter's as he had 21 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots. His eight blocked shots were part of a team effort of 16 blocked shots, the second-most in a game for UMass, following the record 20 against West Virginia on Jan. 3, 1995.
• Against Siena, playing against the school he grew up just miles from, Rashaun Freeman poured in a game-high 23 points and added 12 rebounds for his third double-double this season and 23rd of his career. UMass had four players score in double-figures in the game as senior Jeff Viggiano and junior James Life had 12 points while freshman guard Chris Lowe netted a career-high 10 points. With UMass up 71-69, Lowe made a running jumper with 1:02 left in the game and added two free throws with 49 seconds left to seal the win.
• James Life had the best game of his young career with UMass against Boston University, as he had a game-high 20 points including six 3-point field goals.
• The three consecutive wins came on the heels of a 78-60 loss to No. 3 UConn on Dec. 8. Prior to the loss, UMass posted a 36-point win over Savannah State on Nov. 28. In the win over the Tigers, UMass had six players score in double-figures for the first time since 1990-91 as James Life (18) led the way. Life also led UMass in scoring against Boston University with 20 points. Overall, Life is fifth on the team in scoring at 8.4 per game with a team-high 15 3-point field goals.
• Jeff Viggiano has been solid since entering the starting line-up in the third game of the season. He had four straight games in double-figures from Dec. 8-27 including a season-high 17 against UConn on Dec. 8. He posted his first double-double since Feb. 8, 2004, when he had 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. St. Peter's on Dec. 27. In that game, he also added a career-high six blocked shots and five assists.
• Brandon Thomas has struggled recently scoring just 26 total points in the last five games and is scoring 8.6 points per game. Prior to the five-game slump, he averaged 16.3 points over three games from Nov. 22-28. He is shooting 46 percent from the floor and has made 13 3-pointers.
• After opening the year with a 67-62 win over Hartford on Nov. 18, UMass dropped a pair of hard-fought games at Davidson, 66-63 on Nov. 22 and vs. UAB in the Tip-Off Classic, 86-77 in Springfield, Mass., on Nov. 25. In the loss at Davidson, UMass led by 10 points with 7:30 left in the game, but the Wildcats went on a 16-3 run to finish the game. Stephane Lasme tied the UMass school record with nine blocked shots in addition to 10 points and 11 rebounds, coming up just short of what would have been UMass' second-ever triple-double. Maurice Maxwell was the high scorer with 13 points.
• Against UAB, at Springfield's MassMutual Center, Brandon Thomas scored 22 points while Rashaun Freeman had his 20th career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Lasme had 14 points and seven blocks.
Lasme The Blocking Machine
• Stephane Lasme is third in the nation in shots blocked per game at 4.8. He has 43 blocks in nine games. He trails Northeastern's Shawn James (6.3 per game) Wyoming's Justin Williams (6.1). The three are the only ones with more than 4.0 per game.
• Lasme's 43 total blocks are more than the entire team totals for 10 of the 14 Atlantic 10 teams with UMass leading the way with 83.
• UMass leads the nation in blocked shots with 9.22 per game. Connecticut is second at 8.9 per game.
• The junior had a record-setting night in UMass' loss at Davidson, 66-63 on Nov. 22. Lasme tied the school-record for blocked shots in a game with nine. It was previously accomplished by Marcus Camby twice in 1996 and originally set by Harper Williams in 1991. Lasme's total set a new career high breaking his old mark of seven set vs. Rhode Island (2/23/05).
• Lasme had the best game of his career against St, Peter's on Dec. 27, posted career-highs with 21 points and 14 rebounds along with eight blocks. It was his fourth career double-double.
• Lasme had his third-career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds vs. Davidson. He missed out on the second triple-double in school history which was done by Al Skinner in 1973 vs. St. Peter's.
• Lasme has been in double-figures in three of the last six games with 10 points vs. Savannah State on Nov. 28, his third double-figure game in a row. It marked the first time in his career he scored more than 10 points in three games in a row and he now has seven double-figure games.
• Lasme has moved to sixth all-time at UMass in career blocked shots. He has 166 overall passing Will Herndon (128) with his performance at Davidson. Next on the list is Kitwana Rhymer with 184.
• In two short years, Stephane Lasme has become one of the A-10's best shot blockers. As a freshman, the 6-8 native of Libreville, Gabon, swatted 51 shots. Last season, he blew that number away by rejecting 72 opponent shots - second-best in the league. His 72 blocks were the sixth-most in school history.
Freeman Leads The Charge Up Front
• Junior All-Conference selection Rashaun Freeman became the 37th UMass player to score more than 1,000 points against St. Peter's on Dec. 27 with a lay-up with 8:42 left in the first half. He did it in his 65th career game. Of his 66 career games, he has reached double-figures 53 times and has 20 or more points 15 times. He has 1,015 points in his career entering the BC game.
• At his current pace, and going with average of 29 games per season, Freeman would finish his career with 1,786 points, which would be fourth all-time at UMass. Jim McCoy is the all-time record holder with 2,374 points.
• Prior to Freeman, the last player to pass the 1,000-point plateau was Anthony Anderson (2001-05), who did it on March 6, 2004 against Richmond in his junior season. Anderson finished his career with 1,211 points to rank tied for 19th all-time at UMass with Jim Town (1974-77).
• A 2005 Atlantic 10 First Team honoree and NABC All-District Second Team selection Freeman is the team's top scorer at 15.3 points per game, which ranks 11th in the A-10. His team-best 9.1 rebounding average is third in the A-10 and his 54.1 field goal percentage is the third in the league.
• Freeman has scored in double-figures in seven of nine games this season and in 53 of 66 career games after a game-high 23 vs. Siena; 12 points vs. BU and a game-high 19 points at No. 3 UConn on Dec. 8.
• He posted back-to-back double-doubles in the UAB and Savannah State games with 21 points and 11 rebounds against the Blazers and 12 points and 12 rebounds vs. the Tigers.
• Freeman has continued to be stellar from the floor shooting 54.1 percent field goals this season. Overall, his career mark of 54.3 ranks fourth all-time at UMass.
Milligan Makes his UMass Debut
• UMass gained its ninth scholarship player starting with the Siena game as redshirt-sophomore forward Danté Milligan made his UMass debut. Milligan was strong in 20 minutes as he scored seven points, grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocked shots. Coach Travis Ford said he "made things happen in the game" is the "type of player who can flourish in this system."
• In three games, Milligan is averaging 5.0 rebounds and 6.3 rebounds.
• Milligan transferred to the Minutemen from Pittsburgh last winter. He last played in a collegiate game on Dec. 18 against Coppin State. He has played just seven collegiate games in his career, dating back to 2003, as he red-shirted his true freshman year with Pittsburgh.
• Milligan is playing power forward and small forward and will add depth up front. He is now listed at 6-9, 215 pounds since coming in from Pitt.
Minute Matters From 2005-06
• UMass had 16 blocked shots against St. Peter's on Dec. 27 at Madison Square Garden, which was the second-most in school history and most since the record 20 was set vs. West Virginia on Jan. 3, 1995. UMass has had 10 or more blocks in a game four times.
• The Minutemen had a pair of players with double-doubles for the first time in two seasons in the game against St. Peter's as Stephane Lasme had career highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds along with Jeff Viggiano who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. The previous time UMass had two players with double-doubles was Feb. 3, 2004 vs. Rider.
• Stephane Lasme has at least four blocks in a game on five occasions including eight or more twice.
• UMass' 44 points in the first half against Siena on Dec. 23 was the highest total at halftime in two years -- since the Minutemen led Marshall, 46-29 on Dec. 20, 2003.
• UMass held Boston University to just 45 points on Dec. 12, its lowest total against any team since holding Rhode Island to 44 on Feb. 2, 2005. UMass also limited the Terriers to just 16 second-half points, the lowest also since that URI game when the Rams had 14 in the first half.
• Free throws were at a premium in the game with BU on Dec. 12 as UMass was just 3-of-6 from the line and the Terriers were just 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. Those were the lowest numbers for UMass in two seasons.
• Against Savannah State on Nov. 28, UMass had six players with 10 or more points for the first time since Dec. 27, 1991 when they beat Harvard 98-63 in Springfield: Jerome Malloy (19), Lou Roe (15), Jim McCoy (14), Tony Barbee (13), Harper Williams (12) and Will Herndon (10). In the Savannah State game, James Life led the way with 18 points.
• In the Savannah State game, UMass posted its second-largest margin of victory in the history of the Mullins Center, winning by 36 points. The record of 39 was set on Jan. 22, 2000, as UMass beat Rhode Island, 89-50, which was the largest spread dating to its opening in 1993.
• On Nov. 18 against Hartford, the crowd of 6,488 was the largest for a UMass home opener since the 1997-98 opener when 7,356 came out for the College of Charleston game on Dec. 2, 1997.
• Against Hartford, Jeff Viggiano had 14 points his highest total since March 3, 2004, when he netted 23. It was his 27th career double-figure scoring game.
• UMass is now 64-33 all-time in season openers having won 11 of the last 13. They are 7-0 at the Mullins Center in season openers.
• In their preseason exhibition win over Dowling, 96-55, UMass came away with 23 steals, which would have been a UMass record if the game had counted as a regular-season contest.
Home Sweet Home At Mullins
• UMass is in its 14th season of play at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center, and has posted an all-time record of 116-47 (.712) in the building with a perfect 4-0 this season. Last year, UMass is 12-5 at the Mullins Center as they hosted a school-record 17 games. The 12 home wins last season was the second-best total at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen were 14-0 in 1993-94 and 11-1 in 1994-95.
• With the addition of last year's 12-5 home record, UMass has not had a losing record at home since moving into the new arena in 1992-1993. In fact, UMass has gone 22 straight seasons without having a losing record on its home court. The Minutemen also own a 67-30 all-time record in regular season Atlantic 10 Conference games at the Mullins Center, and a 3-1 mark in Atlantic 10 Tournament contests.
Saintly Schedule
• UMass has a chance to play five schools named "Saint" this season in addition to playing a team nicknamed the Saints -- Siena (a 78-69 win on Dec. 23). The Minutemen defeated St. Peter's (66-49) on Dec. 27 in the Panasonic Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. The next day, UMass lost to host St. John's, 51-49 in the final. Atlantic 10 conference games features match-ups with Saint Joseph's on Jan. 11 and Saint Louis on Jan. 14 along with a trip to St. Bonaventure on Feb. 19.
Bowers To Transfer
• Junior Art Bowers announced on Nov. 25, that he has left the basketball program and will look to transfer to another school seeking more playing time. Bowers did not score in two starts this season. He was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team member in 2003-04.
Welcome Aboard
• The Minutemen welcome one of the top recruits in the nation in junior college All-American James Life from Manatee Community College in Florida. A year ago, the 6-4 guard averaged 24.5 ppg in scoring 721 points, more than any player in all of junior college basketball. UMass also welcomes freshman point guard Chris Lowe from Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High School. The 6-0 Lowe averaged 11.1 points and 6.5 assists a game last year. UMass also has five transfers on the roster, two of whom will play this season. Swingman Brandon Thomas was Long Island University's leading scorer in 2003-04 before sitting out last season.
See You Next Year
• Three Minutemen are sitting the entire season as transfers from Division I programs, all will be eligible to play in the 2006-07 season. Junior forward Gary Forbes came to UMass for Virginia where scored 9.4 points per game with the Cavaliers last year including a career-high 23 against eventual national-champion North Carolina. Forbes will have two seasons to play at UMass. Junior forward Etienne Brower will also have two years after coming over from Boston University. Brower started all 29 games with the Terriers in 04-05 scoring 8.3 points per game and 5.4 rebounds. Sophomore center Luke Bonner will have three years to play at UMass after his freshman season at West Virginia where he was part of the Mountaineers Elite Eight team.
Tough Schedule
• UMass faces a very difficult schedule in 2005-06. Of the 27 games on the schedule only five come against teams with losing records this season. That means UMass faces games with 22 opponents at or above .500. UMass' opponents composite record as of Dec. 31 is 171-124 a winning percentage of 58.0.
• Included are games against Top 15 teams: No. 2/2 UConn, No. 13/13 Boston College and No. 12/12 George Washington.
Coaches In UMass Debuts
• With Travis Ford winning his UMass debut against Hartford, the last five UMass basketball coaches won their Minuteman debut. Prior to that the three coaches lost their debuts including legend Jack Leaman, who lost his first game on the bench at UMass, falling to Boston College, 86-63, on Dec. 3, 1966.
• Starting with Ron Gerlufson's 75-73 win over New Hampshire in 1983, John Calipari, Bruiser Flint and Steve Lappas all won their UMass debuts.
• Travis Ford is now 5-1 in his last six season openers as he went 4-1 in openers at Eastern Kentucky including a win at A-10 foe Dayton last season.
Quick Notes From 2004-05
• The Minutemen went 16-12 overall and finished 8-8 in the Atlantic 10. UMass won five overtime games last season, the second most of any school in a single-season in NCAA history ... UMass was 13-5 in games decided by 10 points or less in 2004-05...Rashaun Freeman was sixth in the A-10 scoring and fifth in rebounding last year ... For the second year in a row and the 10th time in league history, UMass led the A-10 in blocked shots (5.2 bpg).
