University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Holy Cross
Men's Hoops Returns Home To Host Holy Cross Wednesday
December 04, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Minutemen begin five-game home stand this week against Crusaders.
AMHERST, Mass. - After a four-game road trip, the UMass basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Mullins Center on Wednesday night hosting Holy Cross. The 7 PM tip-off will begin a five-game homestand for the Minutemen covering the bulk of December.
The game will be aired online via the Atlantic 10 Digital Network. On the radio dial, Voice of the Minutemen Josh Maurer and Adam Frenier will call the action with the game being carried on 105.5 FM WEEI and 830 WCRN. The audio stream will also be available online via www.UMassAthletics.com and the Tune-In App (search WEEI).
Saturday's game saw the Minutemen climb out of an early deficit to take a 35-34 halftime lead at South Carolina. Behind some hot shooting from beyond the arc and 25 points from Luwane Pipkins, UMass led by as many as five with 13 minutes to go in the second half. The Gamecocks then went on a 13-to-2 run to pull away from the Minutemen despite UMass pulling back within a possession three more times down the stretch. Carl Pierre hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds to go making the score 72-70, but South Carolina hit four straight free throws to ice the game.
Though the loss was the fourth straight for UMass, it was also the fourth of five losses that was decided by six-or-fewer points. Three of UMass losses were by a SINGLE possession with two-point losses to BYU and Quinnipiac and an three-point overtime buzzer-beating loss at Harvard.
Following his performance against South Carolina, Pipkins moved up to fifth overall among the Atlantic 10 scoring leaders with an 18.3 point per game average while his 3.9 assists per game is good for seventh overall. The 25 points marked his third-highest scoring effort for a single game and the fourth time this season he has hit 20-or-more points.
Other notable performances from the South Carolina game included an eight-assist night for C.J. Anderson which tied his career high and moved him into fourth overall in the A-10 with 4.9 assists per game. Pierre's 12 points marked the third time this season he has reached double figures, while his four three pointers tied his career-best as well.
As a team, UMass is averaging 72.5 points a night which is sixth-best in the league. The Minutemen are also one of the better shooting teams in the conference hitting 45.1 percent of their shots (5th best), 36.3 percent of their three-point attempts (4th best) and 76.7 percent of their free throw attempts (2nd best). UMass also ranks among the top six in rebounding and assists, while sitting third in blocked shots.
Holy Cross (2-5) is coming off a pair of losses in the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic over the weekend in Ireland. The Crusaders fell 70-54 to Manhattan on Friday and 58-54 on Saturday against La Salle. Karl Charles leads Holy Cross with 11.5 points per game followed by Caleb Green (11.4), Patrick Benzen (11.0) and Jehyve Floyd (10.7).
Following the Holy Cross game, UMass will close out the week against another regional rival as Providence visits on Saturday, Dec. 9 (3 PM). The Providence game will be the first of UMass' televised games with Eleven Sports and NESN.
For complete coverage of the UMass men's basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
