University of Massachusets Athletics
Sunday, January 5
Saint Louis, Mo.
4:00 PM
University of Massachusetts
6-8,0-1Atlantic
80
at
83
Saint Louis
12-3,1-1Atlanti
1
2
OT 1
F
Massachusetts
33
40
7
80
Saint Louis
34
39
10
83
Saint Louis Nips Massachusetts In Overtime, 83-80
January 05, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Tre Mitchell leads the Minutemen with 20 points and nine rebounds
ST. LOUIS – Trailing by nine with less than eight minutes to play in regulation, the UMass men's basketball team (6-8, 0-1) stormed back to force overtime, and led by five in the extra session, but Saint Louis (12-3, 1-1) would score the game's final eight points to come away with an 83-80 win on Sunday afternoon at Chaifetz Arena.
The Minutemen, who outmuscled one of the nation's top rebounding teams on the boards, were led by Samba Diallo (14 rebounds) and Tre Mitchell (nine rebounds) on the glass. Mitchell led all scorers with 20 points, while captain Carl Pierre added 16 points, including 15 in the second half and overtime with several clutch buckets late in a game that saw 11 ties and 18 lead changes.
In overtime, Massachusetts came out hot with the first five points of the session from Mitchell and Diallo to go up 78-73 with 3:47 to go. Demarius Jacobs, though, answered with five straight points of his own before Hasahn French (19 points, 13 rebounds) tied the game yet again with a bucket down low. From there, SLU held UMass without a field goal for the final 2:55, forced two turnovers and hit its final three free throws before surviving a last second three from Pierre to seal it.
UMass shot 41% overall (27-of-66) and nearly 30% from three while Saint Louis was 35-of-71 (49.3) from the floor including a 19-of-36 showing in the second half and overtime.
An 11-0 Minuteman run over a 3:15 span gave the Minutemen a 46-39 edge early in the second half, with six of those points coming from Mitchell, but the Billikens responded with an 18-2 run of their own in less than five minutes midway through the half to taken an eight-point lead at 61-53.
Another 9-0 UMass run leveled the game at 65 with 5:41 to go as the Minutemen continued to battle thanks to a free throw from Pierre. The teams would go back and forth down the stretch, with SLU holding a 73-71 lead with less than a minute to go, but Massachusetts was able to come up with a steal with 30 seconds left, allowing Sean East II (18 points, five assists, four steals) to send a bounce pass over to Pierre for the layup to send the game to OT.
The teams went punch-for-punch during an evenly played first half that featured seven ties and 12 lead changes, with UMass shooting 40.6% (13-of-32) from the floor while SLU was 16-of-35 (45.7%) overall. Neither team lead by more than five points during the opening 20 minutes, with SLU going up 8-3 on an early 6-0 run capped by a fastbreak lay-in from Jimmy Bell Jr.
UMass got it going out of the first media timeout when East and Mitchell went to work, with both finishing 3-of-9 from the floor in the first. The Minutemen also did work under the basket, collecting eight offensive boards leading to 11 second chance points to trail by just one at half, 34-33.
The Minutemen will return to the Mullins Center on Wednesday for their A-10 home opener against La Salle. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on NESN.
Tickets for the 2019-20 UMass men's basketball season are now on sale for all remaining home games in the Mullins Center. Tickets can be purchased now online through the UMass Athletics Ticket Central page, by calling the ticket office at 866-UMASS-TIX, or by visiting the Mullins Center Box Office.
The Minutemen, who outmuscled one of the nation's top rebounding teams on the boards, were led by Samba Diallo (14 rebounds) and Tre Mitchell (nine rebounds) on the glass. Mitchell led all scorers with 20 points, while captain Carl Pierre added 16 points, including 15 in the second half and overtime with several clutch buckets late in a game that saw 11 ties and 18 lead changes.
In overtime, Massachusetts came out hot with the first five points of the session from Mitchell and Diallo to go up 78-73 with 3:47 to go. Demarius Jacobs, though, answered with five straight points of his own before Hasahn French (19 points, 13 rebounds) tied the game yet again with a bucket down low. From there, SLU held UMass without a field goal for the final 2:55, forced two turnovers and hit its final three free throws before surviving a last second three from Pierre to seal it.
UMass shot 41% overall (27-of-66) and nearly 30% from three while Saint Louis was 35-of-71 (49.3) from the floor including a 19-of-36 showing in the second half and overtime.
An 11-0 Minuteman run over a 3:15 span gave the Minutemen a 46-39 edge early in the second half, with six of those points coming from Mitchell, but the Billikens responded with an 18-2 run of their own in less than five minutes midway through the half to taken an eight-point lead at 61-53.
Another 9-0 UMass run leveled the game at 65 with 5:41 to go as the Minutemen continued to battle thanks to a free throw from Pierre. The teams would go back and forth down the stretch, with SLU holding a 73-71 lead with less than a minute to go, but Massachusetts was able to come up with a steal with 30 seconds left, allowing Sean East II (18 points, five assists, four steals) to send a bounce pass over to Pierre for the layup to send the game to OT.
The teams went punch-for-punch during an evenly played first half that featured seven ties and 12 lead changes, with UMass shooting 40.6% (13-of-32) from the floor while SLU was 16-of-35 (45.7%) overall. Neither team lead by more than five points during the opening 20 minutes, with SLU going up 8-3 on an early 6-0 run capped by a fastbreak lay-in from Jimmy Bell Jr.
UMass got it going out of the first media timeout when East and Mitchell went to work, with both finishing 3-of-9 from the floor in the first. The Minutemen also did work under the basket, collecting eight offensive boards leading to 11 second chance points to trail by just one at half, 34-33.
The Minutemen will return to the Mullins Center on Wednesday for their A-10 home opener against La Salle. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on NESN.
Tickets for the 2019-20 UMass men's basketball season are now on sale for all remaining home games in the Mullins Center. Tickets can be purchased now online through the UMass Athletics Ticket Central page, by calling the ticket office at 866-UMASS-TIX, or by visiting the Mullins Center Box Office.
Team Stats
UMASS
SLU
FG%
.409
.493
3FG%
.292
.167
FT%
.792
.579
RB
43
42
TO
25
23
STL
11
9
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
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