University of Massachusets Athletics
Wednesday, January 13
Amherst, Mass.
7 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
4-3,3-1Atlantic 10
80
vs
78
Rhode Island
6-7,3-3Atlantic 10
1
2
OT 1
F
Rhode Island
31
41
6
78
Massachusetts
37
35
8
80
UMass Holds Off Rhode Island In OT, 80-78; Off To Best A-10 Start Since 2013-14
January 13, 2021 | Men's Basketball
Freshman Ronnie DeGray III had a team-high 21 points on the night to lead four players in double-figures
AMHERST, Mass. – After seeing Rhode Island (6-7, 3-3) erase a 15-point deficit with under 10 minutes to play to force overtime, a resilient Massachusetts men's basketball team (4-3, 3-1) hit the reset button for the final five minutes, gutting out an 80-78 victory over the rival Rams on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center.
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The teams were scoreless through the first three minutes of extra time before URI went ahead on a layup from Mahkel Mitchell (23 points, six rebounds) before rookie Ronnie DeGray III jarred a baseline three with 1:51 to go to put the hosts up by one. Tre Mitchell went to work from there, getting a layup to go before converting on two free throws to answer a three from D.J. Johnson (11 points) and give UMass a one-point lead with 25 seconds left.Â
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That set the table for a massive defensive stand from the Minutemen in the final seconds as captain Carl Pierre and Dibaji Walker smothered Jeremy Sheppard (six points, seven assists), forcing a turnover and the steal by Pierre. Pierre would sink one-of-two at the other end, and a missed jumper from Antwan Walker at the buzzer sealed the victory and give Massachusetts its best start in conference play since the 2013-14 season.
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DeGray III set the tone for UMass with a team-high 21 points along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead four Minutemen in double-figures. Tre Mitchell finished with 16 points, seven boards and four assists, while Pierre (15 points, four assists) and Noah Fernandes (10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks also reached double-figures.
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Pierre's 15 points on the night moved him into sole possession of 22nd on UMass' all-time scoring list with 1269 points, passing Doug Grutchfield (1958-61).
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Defensively, the Minutemen finished the game with 16 steals, the most since Dec. 3, 2016 against UCF (15) and eight blocks, the most since Jan. 3, 2018 vs. George Mason (11).
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It was scoring by committee for the Minutemen in the first half, with seven different players finding the scoresheet led by seven points apiece by DeGray III, Garcia, Tre Mitchell and Pierre. DeGray III and Mitchell also added five and four boards, respectively, while Walker led the way on the defensive end with three of his four blocks on the night in the opening 20 minutes.
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UMass, which shot 45% (15-of-33) as a team in the first, led by as many as nine despite Mitchell picking up his second foul and heading to the bench with 6:56 to play until half.
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URI, meanwhile, hung in there thanks to 12 points from Makhel Mitchell on 5-of-6 from the floor to lead a Rams team that shot 37% overall (11-of-30) with just four attempts from deep and was held without a field goal for the final 3:13 of the half.Â
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Massachusetts put its defense on display early in the second half, generating six steals and converting at the other end with a 12-2 run over a 4:17 span to open up an 11-point lead with 11:48 to play, capped by a T.J. Weeks Jr. three from the wing.
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UMass got the lead up to as many as 15 with 9:35 to go before Rhode Island started to climb back into it with two quick buckets from Sheppard and Makhel Mitchell before Tre Mitchell picked up his fourth foul of the night with 7:54 left.
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With Mitchell on the bench, URI capitalized by building to an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to four with 6:36 left. The teams continued to battle from there, with the UMass lead no more than six points the rest of the way before Betrand buried a three with 15 seconds left to force OT.
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The Minutemen will be back in action on Sunday when Massachusetts heads to the Bronx to take on Fordham. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN.
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The teams were scoreless through the first three minutes of extra time before URI went ahead on a layup from Mahkel Mitchell (23 points, six rebounds) before rookie Ronnie DeGray III jarred a baseline three with 1:51 to go to put the hosts up by one. Tre Mitchell went to work from there, getting a layup to go before converting on two free throws to answer a three from D.J. Johnson (11 points) and give UMass a one-point lead with 25 seconds left.Â
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That set the table for a massive defensive stand from the Minutemen in the final seconds as captain Carl Pierre and Dibaji Walker smothered Jeremy Sheppard (six points, seven assists), forcing a turnover and the steal by Pierre. Pierre would sink one-of-two at the other end, and a missed jumper from Antwan Walker at the buzzer sealed the victory and give Massachusetts its best start in conference play since the 2013-14 season.
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DeGray III set the tone for UMass with a team-high 21 points along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead four Minutemen in double-figures. Tre Mitchell finished with 16 points, seven boards and four assists, while Pierre (15 points, four assists) and Noah Fernandes (10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks also reached double-figures.
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Pierre's 15 points on the night moved him into sole possession of 22nd on UMass' all-time scoring list with 1269 points, passing Doug Grutchfield (1958-61).
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Defensively, the Minutemen finished the game with 16 steals, the most since Dec. 3, 2016 against UCF (15) and eight blocks, the most since Jan. 3, 2018 vs. George Mason (11).
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It was scoring by committee for the Minutemen in the first half, with seven different players finding the scoresheet led by seven points apiece by DeGray III, Garcia, Tre Mitchell and Pierre. DeGray III and Mitchell also added five and four boards, respectively, while Walker led the way on the defensive end with three of his four blocks on the night in the opening 20 minutes.
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UMass, which shot 45% (15-of-33) as a team in the first, led by as many as nine despite Mitchell picking up his second foul and heading to the bench with 6:56 to play until half.
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URI, meanwhile, hung in there thanks to 12 points from Makhel Mitchell on 5-of-6 from the floor to lead a Rams team that shot 37% overall (11-of-30) with just four attempts from deep and was held without a field goal for the final 3:13 of the half.Â
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Massachusetts put its defense on display early in the second half, generating six steals and converting at the other end with a 12-2 run over a 4:17 span to open up an 11-point lead with 11:48 to play, capped by a T.J. Weeks Jr. three from the wing.
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UMass got the lead up to as many as 15 with 9:35 to go before Rhode Island started to climb back into it with two quick buckets from Sheppard and Makhel Mitchell before Tre Mitchell picked up his fourth foul of the night with 7:54 left.
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With Mitchell on the bench, URI capitalized by building to an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to four with 6:36 left. The teams continued to battle from there, with the UMass lead no more than six points the rest of the way before Betrand buried a three with 15 seconds left to force OT.
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The Minutemen will be back in action on Sunday when Massachusetts heads to the Bronx to take on Fordham. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN.
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Team Stats
URI
UMass
FG%
.439
.403
3FG%
.429
.200
FT%
.524
.833
RB
44
34
TO
20
12
STL
6
16
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
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