Northeastern Holds On To Nip UMass Men's Basketball, 78-75

BOSTON – Trailing by as many as 14 points midway through the second half, the UMass basketball team (1-1) chipped away at the deficit throughout the final 10 minutes of play, coming within a possession with less than 20 seconds left, but Northeastern (1-1) was able to hold on for a 78-75 victory over the Minutemen on Sunday at the Cabot Center.

Massachusetts was down by 10 with under a minute to go in the game before cutting it all the way down to three in a span of 23 seconds with a combined eight points by Javohn Garcia and T.J. Weeks Jr. With a chance to take a two-possession lead, Northeastern missed a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to go, and captain Carl Pierre corralled the rebound and headed up the court with a chance to tie the game. Pierre's bid wouldn't go, though, allowing the Huskies to pounce on the loose ball and escape.

Five Minutemen reached double-figures on the day, led by Garcia with 18 points on 6-of-11 from the floor along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Noah Fernandes (15 points; five rebounds), Weeks Jr. (14 points on 5-of-10 shooting), Ronnie DeGray III (12 points, five rebounds) and Tre Mitchell (10 points) all reached double-digits, with Mitchell setting the tone on the defensive end with a team-high eight rebounds.

Northeastern, which shot upwards of 71% to start the second half, was led by Tyson Walker with 20 points and six assists. Walker was also 12-of-15 from the free throw line individually, while UMass as a team went 16-of-21. Jason Strong (16 points and five rebounds), Shaquille Walters (12 points and a game-high nine boards), Jahmyl Telfort (11 points) and Greg Eboigbodin (10 points) also reached double figures.

It was a back and forth battle in the first half with seven ties, 12 lead changes, and neither squad leading by more than four points. Both teams shot 11-of-33 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. Northeastern locked in on Mitchell all night, holding the UMass star to just five points in the first half, but Garcia and DeGray III kept the Minutemen within one at the break with eight points apiece.

The Huskies came out of recess using a pair of 6-0 runs to open up a lead on the Minutemen, going up by as many as 14 with 9:42 to play. But UMass, which was held to eight assists while turning the ball over 15 times, wouldn't go away, continuing to fight until the buzzer before Pierre's final shot wouldn't fall.

Massachusetts will kickoff Atlantic 10 play on Wednesday when the Minutemen travel to La Salle for a 1 p.m. tip on ESPN+.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Javohn Garcia

Noah Fernandes

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Ronnie DeGray III

Players Mentioned

Ronnie DeGray III

Noah Fernandes

Javohn Garcia

Tre Mitchell

Carl Pierre

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Players Mentioned

Ronnie DeGray III

Noah Fernandes

Javohn Garcia

Tre Mitchell

Carl Pierre

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics