University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Duquesne
Second Half Surges Gives UMass 82-63 Win At Duquesne
January 07, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2006
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - After taking a 42-31 halftime lead, UMass opened the second half with a 15-to-4 run en route to an 82-63 win at Duquesne on Saturday afternoon in the Palumbo Center. UMass' size in the paint proved too much for the Dukes as the Minutemen scored 46 points in the paint compared to just 30 for Duquesne.
Juniors Rashaun Freeman (Schenectady, N.Y.) and Stephane Lasme (Libreville, Gabon) led the way with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Freeman moved up to a 30th-place tie all-time in UMass history with 1,053 career points, while Lasme has scored double-figures in the last four-consecutive games.
That inside duo helped UMass shoot 55.4 percent from the floor going 31-of-56 for the game. The Minutemen also heled a 38-to-28 rebounding advantage.
UMass won its first A-10 conference opener since 1998-99 on Saturday. UMass last won a conference debut against Virginia Tech, 55-40 on Jan. 5, 1999. The Minutemen had lost six straight A-10 openers.
The Minutemen (6-5, 1-0 Atlantic 10) did not allow a Duquesne second half field goal until 10 minutes and 25 seconds into the period pushing their lead to 21 points, 61-40, with 9:35 remaining in the game. All of the Dukes (2-11, 0-2) points to that point were on seven free throws.
UMass jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game and never looked back. UMass took leads twice of 11 points in the first half, but the Dukes managed to trim the lead to just three, 30-27, on a pair of Aaron Jackson free throws.
Lasme led all players in the opening frame with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Freeman added 10 on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor. Size was the early advantage for the Minutemen who scored 24 points in the paint while limiting the Dukes to just 16 in the first half.
Four players scored in double figures for UMass as James Life (Fort Myers, Fla.) and Brandon Thomas (San Antonio, Texas) added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Thomas, who started at point guard also added four assists and did not turn the ball over.
It was UMass' largest win against a conference team since an 85-59 win over Fordham on Feb. 3, 2001 at the Mullins Center. It was the largrest conference road since a 78-46 at Rhode Island on Jan. 30, 2001.
The Minutemmen will return to the Mullins Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11 to face Saint Joseph's at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised on CN8.
