University of Massachusets Athletics
Wednesday, February 21
Amherst, Mass.
7 PM
University of Massachusetts
11-17, 4-11 A-10
78
vs
82
VCU
16-12, 8-7 A-10
1
2
F
VCU
39
43
82
Massachusetts
38
40
78
Pipkins Scores 38 As UMass Falls To VCU 82-78
February 21, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Luwane Pipkins scored a game-high 38 points while tying his career-high in 3-pointers made with eight.
AMHERST, Mass. – Luwane Pipkins scored a game-high 38 points as the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team fell to VCU 82-78 in a back-and-forth affair on Wednesday night in the Mullins Center. The Minutemen (11-17 Overall, 4-11 Atlantic 10) rallied back to pull within a possession late at 78-75 on a night when there were six ties and 13 lead changes.
Nine of those lead changes came in the first half as UMass jumped out to a 12-6 lead. A balanced Minuteman attach saw all five starters score within the first 3:20 of the contest while UMass assisted on all seven of their first seven made field goals.
C.J. Anderson knocked down his first three of the night to go ahead 17-14 as UMass converted on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep to open up the night. Anderson finished with 15 points to go along with six assists and three boards.
VCU (16-12 Overall, 8-7 Atlantic 10) rallied back after UMass pulled ahead by its largest margin of the night at five points to go ahead 26-21 after four made field goals in a row.
A pair of consecutive 3-pointers from Pipkins and Rayshawn Miller put the Minutemen ahead 35-33 with 4:11 left in the first half while Pipkins knocked down another one late in the half to bring the lead back to one before VCU scored to take a 39-38 lead into the locker room for halftime. UMass shot just 40.5-percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, but knocked down eight from behind the arc while assisting on 10-of-15 made field goals.
After another Pipkins 3-pointer in the second half put the Minutemen up 44-42, VCU responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to build their then largest lead of the night at 52-46. Anderson and Pipkins combined for 13 straight UMass points midway through the second, capped off by a pair of Anderson free throws that knotted the score at 65-65 with seven minutes remaining.
VCU scored eight straight points after UMass tied it up to pull ahead 73-65 after an apparent goaltend denied the Minutemen their first lead since the 12:01 mark in the second half. The VCU lead extended to double-digits for the first and only time of the evening at 78-68 before UMass responded with a late push to pull within a possession.
Unique McLean helped spark a 7-0 UMass run, scoring off a Pipkins steal in the full court press to pull within five before a Pipkins layup with 46-seconds left brought the Minutemen within three at 78-75 before a pair of Justin Tillman layups put VCU back up seven points with 21-seconds left.
Pipkins scored 24 of his 38 points in the second half, knocking down eight 3-pointers on 8-of-13 from deep to tie his career-high for threes made in a game while adding six assists and four rebounds. Carl Pierre was the third Minuteman to reach double-figures as the freshman added 10 points while McLean finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
UMass will head out on the road for a pair of matchups away from home against George Mason and Richmond, beginning with the Patriots on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.
BOX SCORE
For continued coverage of UMass Men's Basketball, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at UMassBasketball.
Nine of those lead changes came in the first half as UMass jumped out to a 12-6 lead. A balanced Minuteman attach saw all five starters score within the first 3:20 of the contest while UMass assisted on all seven of their first seven made field goals.
C.J. Anderson knocked down his first three of the night to go ahead 17-14 as UMass converted on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep to open up the night. Anderson finished with 15 points to go along with six assists and three boards.
VCU (16-12 Overall, 8-7 Atlantic 10) rallied back after UMass pulled ahead by its largest margin of the night at five points to go ahead 26-21 after four made field goals in a row.
A pair of consecutive 3-pointers from Pipkins and Rayshawn Miller put the Minutemen ahead 35-33 with 4:11 left in the first half while Pipkins knocked down another one late in the half to bring the lead back to one before VCU scored to take a 39-38 lead into the locker room for halftime. UMass shot just 40.5-percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, but knocked down eight from behind the arc while assisting on 10-of-15 made field goals.
After another Pipkins 3-pointer in the second half put the Minutemen up 44-42, VCU responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to build their then largest lead of the night at 52-46. Anderson and Pipkins combined for 13 straight UMass points midway through the second, capped off by a pair of Anderson free throws that knotted the score at 65-65 with seven minutes remaining.
VCU scored eight straight points after UMass tied it up to pull ahead 73-65 after an apparent goaltend denied the Minutemen their first lead since the 12:01 mark in the second half. The VCU lead extended to double-digits for the first and only time of the evening at 78-68 before UMass responded with a late push to pull within a possession.
Unique McLean helped spark a 7-0 UMass run, scoring off a Pipkins steal in the full court press to pull within five before a Pipkins layup with 46-seconds left brought the Minutemen within three at 78-75 before a pair of Justin Tillman layups put VCU back up seven points with 21-seconds left.
Pipkins scored 24 of his 38 points in the second half, knocking down eight 3-pointers on 8-of-13 from deep to tie his career-high for threes made in a game while adding six assists and four rebounds. Carl Pierre was the third Minuteman to reach double-figures as the freshman added 10 points while McLean finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
UMass will head out on the road for a pair of matchups away from home against George Mason and Richmond, beginning with the Patriots on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.
BOX SCORE
For continued coverage of UMass Men's Basketball, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at UMassBasketball.
Team Stats
VCU
UMASS
FG%
.542
.415
3FG%
.409
.406
FT%
.692
.846
RB
35
30
TO
16
10
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
38
FGM
11
3FGM
8
FTM
8
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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