University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, March 7
Amherst, Mass.
7:00 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
14-17 (8-10)
63
vs
64
Rhode Island
21-9 (13-5)
1
2
F
Rhode Island
39
25
64
Massachusetts
32
31
63
Rhode Island Nips UMass Late, 64-63, Despite 34 Points From Mitchell
March 07, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Mitchell recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 34 points and 12 rebounds
AMHERST, Mass. – Tre Mitchell had a season-high 34 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, bringing the UMass men's basketball team (14-17, 8-10) all the way back from a 17-point first half deficit to take the lead in the final minute of the game, but late free throws from Fatts Russell with two seconds left gave Rhode Island (21-9, 13-5) the 64-63 victory on Saturday night at the Mullins Center.
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After trimming the 17-point deficit down to seven at halftime, Massachusetts found itself down by as many as 14 in the second half before clawing all the way back to take the lead thanks to a 19-4 run capped by a three from Mitchell with 1:11 left to give UMass its first lead since the 18:24 mark of the first half.
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In a second half that saw two ties and six lead changes alone, it came down to free throws in the final seconds after Mitchell, Samba Diallo (six points, five rebounds), Cyril Langevine (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Mekhi Wong (six points) all fouled out of the game. It was a call on Mitchell, though, with two seconds left and the Minutemen holding a 63-62 lead that sent Russell to the line with the game hanging in the balance, who made both to give the Rams the win.
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UMass, which was held without a field goal for nearly nine minutes in the first half, responded in a big way with a 50% shooting performance in the second half (10-of-20) before finishing 37% overall.
Mitchell finished 10-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-8 from three point range, scoring 17 points in each half. Sean East had 12 points along with seven assists and just one turnover in his second straight start. He's now eight points away from tying the UMass freshman record for single-season scoring, held by Jim McCoy in 1988-89 (555 points).
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The Rams took advantage of a rocky UMass start to the night, leading by as many as 17 with eight minutes to go in the first half before the Minutemen responded to close the cap to seven at the break.
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URI used a 21-2 run over 8:27 to go up 25-8 thanks to eight points from Martin and five from Langevine while holding Massachusetts to 0-of-11 from the floor in that span.
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UMass caught fire out of a timeout, and buried three straight from beyond the arc from East II, Keon Clergeot and Mitchell to spark a 14-2 run to trim the deficit to 33-29 with 3:37 to go before halftime.
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The Minutemen finish the regular season eighth in the Atlantic 10 standings, its highest seed in the conference tournament since 2016. UMass will take on VCU on Thursday at the Barclays Center at 12 p.m. on NBCSN.
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Prior to the game, the Minutemen recognized Djery Baptiste, Davonte Higginbottom and Randall West on Senior Night.
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After trimming the 17-point deficit down to seven at halftime, Massachusetts found itself down by as many as 14 in the second half before clawing all the way back to take the lead thanks to a 19-4 run capped by a three from Mitchell with 1:11 left to give UMass its first lead since the 18:24 mark of the first half.
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In a second half that saw two ties and six lead changes alone, it came down to free throws in the final seconds after Mitchell, Samba Diallo (six points, five rebounds), Cyril Langevine (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Mekhi Wong (six points) all fouled out of the game. It was a call on Mitchell, though, with two seconds left and the Minutemen holding a 63-62 lead that sent Russell to the line with the game hanging in the balance, who made both to give the Rams the win.
Â
UMass, which was held without a field goal for nearly nine minutes in the first half, responded in a big way with a 50% shooting performance in the second half (10-of-20) before finishing 37% overall.
Mitchell finished 10-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-8 from three point range, scoring 17 points in each half. Sean East had 12 points along with seven assists and just one turnover in his second straight start. He's now eight points away from tying the UMass freshman record for single-season scoring, held by Jim McCoy in 1988-89 (555 points).
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The Rams took advantage of a rocky UMass start to the night, leading by as many as 17 with eight minutes to go in the first half before the Minutemen responded to close the cap to seven at the break.
Â
URI used a 21-2 run over 8:27 to go up 25-8 thanks to eight points from Martin and five from Langevine while holding Massachusetts to 0-of-11 from the floor in that span.
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UMass caught fire out of a timeout, and buried three straight from beyond the arc from East II, Keon Clergeot and Mitchell to spark a 14-2 run to trim the deficit to 33-29 with 3:37 to go before halftime.
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The Minutemen finish the regular season eighth in the Atlantic 10 standings, its highest seed in the conference tournament since 2016. UMass will take on VCU on Thursday at the Barclays Center at 12 p.m. on NBCSN.
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Prior to the game, the Minutemen recognized Djery Baptiste, Davonte Higginbottom and Randall West on Senior Night.
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Team Stats
URI
UMASS
FG%
.455
.375
3FG%
.308
.310
FT%
.556
.857
RB
36
30
TO
9
10
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Pts
34
FGM
10
3FGM
6
FTM
8
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
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