University of Massachusets Athletics
Sunday, January 27
Amherst, Mass.
2 PM
University of Massachusetts
77
vs
70
Rhode Island
Menโs Hoops Picks Up First Atlantic 10 Win, Defeats Rhode Island 77-70
January 27, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Carl Pierre scored a team-high 22 points for the Minutemen on 70-percent from the field.
AMHERST, Mass. โ Carl Pierre dropped in a team-high 22 points as the University of Massachusetts men's basketball picked up its first Atlantic 10 win on the season with a 77-70 win over Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon in the Mullins Center. The Minutemen (8-12 Overall, 1-6 Atlantic 10) shot a blistering 64-percent in the final 20 minutes of play, connecting on 9-of-10 shots near the five-minute mark to hold off a late push from the Rams (11-8 Overall, 4-3 Atlantic 10).
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Pierre put together his best shooting performance for the Minutemen in games where he has attempted double-digit shots from the field, finishing 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
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Jonathan Laurent helped the Minutemen pick up their first lead since the opening moments of the contest with just over five minutes left as UMass began an eventual 17-0 scoring run, beginning with a Djery Baptiste hook shot bucket for two of his eight points. Laurent added seven of his 10 points consecutively during the run prior to a Pierre triple and a Rashaan Holloway post score that gave UMass a 31-18 advantage. Holloway finished with nine points off the bench on 4-of-4 from the field.
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Rhode Island chipped away at the deficit, going on a 9-0 run between the end of the first half and beginning of the second to trim the UMass lead down to four points.
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The UMass offense responded by connecting on eight of nine shot attempts near the 10-minute mark to stay ahead of the Rams 50-44. Luwane Pipkins hit his first field goal with 5:37 left in the contest to push the lead to six, eventually adding a pair of free throws late that moved him past Julius Erving and into 15th on the UMass all-time leading scorers list with 1,373 career points.
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The Rams went on a hot shooting stretch of their own to make a late push at overtaking the lead, making 9-of-10 attempts after two straight 3-pointers and a layup brought the score to 60-56 with just over five minutes left prior to a Pipkins and-one at the other end. Pipkins finished the contest 8-of-9 from the line while adding a game-high nine assists for a UMass squad that assisted on 11-of-13 made field goals in the first half to finish the contest with 19 as a team.
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UMass answered back once again to extend the lead back to double-digits for the first time in the second half on a Pierre three to go up 10 followed by a Baptiste layup to put UMass ahead 69-57. The stretch marked another hot streak for the Minutemen, going 6-of-7 from the field on their way to finishing the afternoon at 53-percent from the field.
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The Minutemen will hit the road for their next two contests next week, opening up the road trip to Philadelphia, Pa. at La Salle on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before wrapping up the week against Saint Joseph's on Saturday at 2 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.
PDF BOX SCORE
For complete coverage of the UMass basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
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Pierre put together his best shooting performance for the Minutemen in games where he has attempted double-digit shots from the field, finishing 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
ย
Jonathan Laurent helped the Minutemen pick up their first lead since the opening moments of the contest with just over five minutes left as UMass began an eventual 17-0 scoring run, beginning with a Djery Baptiste hook shot bucket for two of his eight points. Laurent added seven of his 10 points consecutively during the run prior to a Pierre triple and a Rashaan Holloway post score that gave UMass a 31-18 advantage. Holloway finished with nine points off the bench on 4-of-4 from the field.
ย
Rhode Island chipped away at the deficit, going on a 9-0 run between the end of the first half and beginning of the second to trim the UMass lead down to four points.
ย
The UMass offense responded by connecting on eight of nine shot attempts near the 10-minute mark to stay ahead of the Rams 50-44. Luwane Pipkins hit his first field goal with 5:37 left in the contest to push the lead to six, eventually adding a pair of free throws late that moved him past Julius Erving and into 15th on the UMass all-time leading scorers list with 1,373 career points.
ย
The Rams went on a hot shooting stretch of their own to make a late push at overtaking the lead, making 9-of-10 attempts after two straight 3-pointers and a layup brought the score to 60-56 with just over five minutes left prior to a Pipkins and-one at the other end. Pipkins finished the contest 8-of-9 from the line while adding a game-high nine assists for a UMass squad that assisted on 11-of-13 made field goals in the first half to finish the contest with 19 as a team.
ย
UMass answered back once again to extend the lead back to double-digits for the first time in the second half on a Pierre three to go up 10 followed by a Baptiste layup to put UMass ahead 69-57. The stretch marked another hot streak for the Minutemen, going 6-of-7 from the field on their way to finishing the afternoon at 53-percent from the field.
ย
The Minutemen will hit the road for their next two contests next week, opening up the road trip to Philadelphia, Pa. at La Salle on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before wrapping up the week against Saint Joseph's on Saturday at 2 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.
PDF BOX SCORE
For complete coverage of the UMass basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
Players Mentioned
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