University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
La Salle
Men's Hoops Entertains Saint Joseph's On Sunday
January 12, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Minutemen and Hawks will tip at 5 PM on NBC Sports
AMHERST, Mass. -Â After one of the most epic comebacks in recent history, the UMass men's basketball team returns to action on Sunday afternoon to host Saint Joseph's at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen are coming off a dramatic 86-79 overtime win against La Salle that saw UMass overcome a 21-point second half deficit thanks to the Herculean effort of Luwane Pipkins who set a new school record with 44 points on the night. Â Â
Rick Allen (play-by-play) and Tim McCormick (analyst) will have the call for the NBC Sports Network telecast which will also be streamed online via www.NBCSports.com.
On the radio airwaves, the game will be broadcast on the UMass Sports Network anchored by flagship station 105.5 FM WEEI and online via the TuneIn App. Voice of the Minutemen Josh Maurer will be joined courtside by former Minuteman Tim Collins.
In Wednesday's win the Minutemen won their second straight and evened their league record to 2-2 with the comeback win - the largest deficit overcome since 2010. Pipkins was on fire with a school-record 25 points in the second half to provide the spark. The sophomore was complimented by a career-best tying 25 points from freshman Carl Pierre as the duo pounded the La Salle defense with inside and outside combinations throughout the night.
UMass has won three consecutive games in the series including last season's opening round match-up in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Overall, UMass holds a 37-34 advantage in the series. Since the first meeting in 1983, the two teams each sport the same record at the home venues at 21-12 in Amherst and Philadelphia.
UMass continues to be led by Pipkins who is averaging 19.8 points followed by Pierre who is averaging 11.4 points in his rookie campaign. Rashaan Holloway ranks third on the team with 9.9 points in 18 minutes of play. The lone senior on the roster, C.J. Anderson, has been one of the most well-rounded players on the squad with 8.1 points, 5.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Pipkins continues to rank among the A-10 leaders this season as the sophomore guard ranks third overall in scoring average. Defensively, the Chicago native is 12th overall in steals per game (1.53). Offensively, the guard has improved from 2016-17 to this season by +9.6 points per game - the best of any Minuteman this year.
Anderson ranks second among the league's best in assists as well with 5.8 per game while his 92 assists are second-most overall.
Pierre leads the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage (47.4%) and is the nation's most accurate three-point shooting freshman through 17 games. He currently holds the third-best single-season shooting percentage in school history from beyond the arc.
As a team, UMass ranks fifth in the A-10 in shooting percentage (45.5%), second in 3-point percentage (37.7%) and third in free throw percentage (76.0%) this season. UMass' 142 made three-pointers are third most in the league, while the Minutemen lead the league in total assists (263).
Following Sunday's game, UMass will head on the road to take on long-time rival Rhode Island in Kingston. The game will be televised locally on Cox Sports. Â
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.
